The Hawtthorns - Zero Gravity (2024)

This Nashville-based duo’s third CD lays down the typically creepy noir-inflected musical heft that is often displayed in the work of The Blasters (“Dark Night”), Tito & Tarantula but not as “out there” as The Tiger Lillies or Dead Can Dance (“American Dreaming”). The Hawtthorns (Johnny & KP) yes, with two t’s – are more rooted in country swamp water yet, have an affirming thrust to their music. “Nothing But a Shadow,” is persuasive & ably demonstrates the duo’s signature sound.

The duo is not gloomy. It’s just that their arrangements are glazed with a guitar density much the same as Robert Fripp’s in some of the slower King Crimson tunes & when Fripp backed Darryl Hall. There’s muscle in KP’s vocalizing that’s paramount to the showcase not coming off too pretentiously. The music is well constructed & the lyrics are sung with a fine texture.

Produced by The Hawtthorns & Ted Pecchio (bass guitar) in Nashville the eleven Zero Gravity delicacies at times rise above the Spanish moss & go country elite (“Hands On a Clock” & “Don’t Plan To Lose”) that features KP’s vocals in a more classic country delicacy. Lucinda Williams without the growl & very commercial without being campy.

I don’t find them a Laurel Canyon influence – that’s way too folky & singer-songwriter whereas this set is splashed with some tight rockers that radiate, not from the 70s but from a 60s girl group aesthetic (think The Shangri-Las when they sang songs like “Dressed In Black,” “I Can Never Go Home Again,” “The Boy” & “Sweet Sounds of Summer.” It certainly drips freely in “Trouble,” followed by fuzzy jangly guitars typical of the 60s when musicians pushed the envelope even on mainstream cuts.

The duo never comes up short & the saveur of their music has a sweet pull on the ear & toe-tapping feet in high heels or sneakers. They have mastered the art of catchiness & hook-laden songs. KP maintains a delicate yet sly lead vocal appropriate to each tune she touches.

The Sixties are quite evident in “Flying,” — a beautiful ballad with KP’s controlled tonality & enunciation cruising through the words with purity in a somewhat in a Beatles tradition. Despite my comparisons, the duo does not sound retro. They are quite contemporary.

“Don’t Wait By the Phone” features Johnny Hawthorn. This would interest Billy Swan (“I Can Help”) fans since Johnny sounds somewhat in that country-pop realm.