A Hawk And A Hacksaw - Biography
Formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, A Hawk And A Hacksaw was started as a solo project by former Neutral Milk Hotel and Bablicon percussionist, Jeremy Barnes, in 2002. Taking the name from a Cervantes’ Don Quixote, the underlying meaning behind the name—that a person gone mad doesn’t recognize the difference between a hawk and a hacksaw—is actually reflective of Barnes’ Balkan-informed, mostly-instrumental music. It’s zany, complicated, lush, accessible, danceable and reverent of Eastern European folk and klezmer music, all tied into one ever-evolving sound. It’s a far cry from his indie-rock days and associations with Elephant 6, when he drummed with Neutral Milk Hotel.
A Hawk and a Hacksaw’s self-titled debut was recorded in the French countryside in 2002 and originally released by Cloud Recordings that same year, and then reissued in 2004 (The Leaf Label). Barnes played all the instruments himself, including accordion, piano, trumpet, fiddle, bells and other musical doodads. The album carries the feel of something antique-like, admirably far-off and festively anachronistic, with the fringy Eastern European components shining through. With its cinematic feel and slightly sinister electronic effects, the album was later made the soundtrack for the Astra Taylor documentary, Zizek!, in 2005. Taylor is married to Neutral Milk Hotel founder (and Barnes’ former bandmate), Jeff Magnum.
After being joined by Mark Weaver (tuba), Dan Clucas (trumpet) and girlfriend Heather Trost (violin), the band split Darkness At Noon (2005 Leaf) recording sessions between Albuquerque and in England. The result was a richer foundation for the type of folk music Barnes was making, which seemed to be reaching back into the annals of time. The instrumentation on Darkness At Noon was more diverse with the new players and bagpipes, squeezeboxes and strange electronic touches underbrushing everything so buried it’s almost insinuated. The nearly eight-minute opener, “Laughter in the Dark,” tips the whole thing off, and things merrier and more exuberant from there.
For his third album, The Way The Wind Blows (2006 Leaf), Barnes and Trost went to Romania to record, alongside the gypsy brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia. The music is wholly authentic, with Barnes adding vocals to some of the tracks (more than in previous efforts) and the waltzes carrying along with dervish energy. Later in 2006, Trost and Barnes moved to Budapest, Hungary, to further immerse themselves in the style, way of life and music. They also recorded with fellow-Albuquerque band Beirut on their album, Gulag Orkestar (2006 Ba Da Bing).
By 2007, Barnes and Trost joined up with Hungary natives, The Hun Hangár Ensemble—comprised of bassist/accordionist Zsolt Kürtosi, reedman Bela Agoston and violinist Ferenc Kovács—to record A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hungár Ensemble (2007 Leaf). The Balkan traditional music is still to be found, this time integrated with a few Barnes and Trost originals, like the opening track “Kiraly Siratás,” which is a contemplative piece of café music. Barnes’s “Zozobra” is a heelfire song that could be an anthem for Hungarian folkloric dance.
In 2009, A Hawk And A Hacksaw released the multifarious album, Délivrance (Leaf), which was a sort of companion piece to the previous release with all its Slavic charm. The English vocals on “Kertesz” and “I’m Not a Gambling Man” incorporate a western feel, but only momentarily, as songs like “Raggle Taggle” and other tracks break back into the spirit of the Balkan Peninsula with comingling cello, cimbalom, accordion and bouzouki.
Whereas Western bands like Beirut, DeVotchka and Gogol Bordello bring the sounds of Eastern Europe to life, A Hawk and Hacksaw actually live it.