Right around 2006 I was at the birth of my hardcore study of Roots Music, and I was just beginning to find all of these independent bands by myself. Basically when the 90’s Country began to fade out, and evolve into the crap they were calling pop country of the 2000’s decade, I began embracing many of the underground acts around the nation.

I cut my teeth on bands like The Old 97’s, Split Lip Rayfield and a long list of other bands. This band right here was no exception with their 2005 album Love What You Do, which I have long since placed upon my TOP 20 most influential albums of my underground music enjoyment. I just enjoyed the overall flow of all of the songs on that album, and at that time their lineup was solid but not as solid as it sounds right now which consists of Mr. David Sickmen- Vocals / Guitar /Songwriter, Mr.  Jonah Sickmen – Charismo Mr. Caleb Powers – Fiddle / banjo / mandolin, and finally Mr. Chris Stevens – Upright Bass.

You know, much like another band that heavily influenced me back then are called The Drive By Truckers, and much like the Hackensaw Boys they too have evolved through many lineups and many different sounds on their albums. Another band with an eclectic lineup was Asleep At The Wheel and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, all amazing musicians in their own rights but some bands made some mediocre albums until they hit a jackpot album.

My favorite track on this entire album was the duet that had the good old Honky Tonk shuffle in it, while the rest of album displayed some excellent songwriting and I see the evident growth of this band as an overall unit now.

I truly understand the reasons behind us having to wait so long for a new album, and an overall return to doing shows on the road. Just like their press release says, they are indeed a truly amazing band to see live. I recall having them at past Muddy Roots festivals, and I really enjoyed them.

From Their Official Press Release

Roots music shapeshifters Hackensaw Boys make a triumphant return with their new self-titled album due out in June. Known for their energetic live shows, the band have been operating as a sort of musical collective for over two decades now, carving a songline that traverses all genres of American roots music. They’ve toured nearly constantly, playing festivals all over the world, sharing stages with the likes of De La Soul and Cheap Trick, and even working as Charlie Louvin’s touring band. They’ve been featured on NPR and Pitchfork, where Amanda Petrusich aptly described their music as a “grassy tornado with brazen punk attitude”. Through it all they’ve adapted their sound, as well as their lineup, to serve their songs with a workman-like ethic. It was during the recording and release of their last EP A Fireproof House Of Sunshine (Free Dirt Records) that Sickmen realized he was doing his best work. This motivated him to “stay out of his own way” during the making of their new self-titled album, a free-wheeling romp through roots music that includes hardcore roots instrumentals, country rug-cutters, and folk rock gems. Produced by Park Chisolm (Kevin Costner & Modern West), Hackensaw Boys is chock full of classic, catchy Hackensaw sounds while achieving a new level of unapologetic honesty and vulnerability via Sickmen’s well-honed, salt-of-the-earth songwriting.

After a six year hiatus, and a battle with vocal polyps that resulted in surgery, founding member, songwriter, and guitarist David Sickmen assumed leadership of the band. He says “…after struggling internally for years to decide what was Hackensaw Boys material and what was not, I realized my life experiences are actually what makes the songs real for me, and therefore good Hackensaw material.” In 2015 he developed an ethos “to play good shows, and be responsible citizens,” which has fueled the group’s longevity and helped them to weather the ebb and flow of musical tastes du jour, as “alt-country” transitioned to “Americana”. Hackensaw Boys have been around so long that Sickmen’s own son Jonah has now joined the ranks on this new effort, taking lead on one of the band’s more notorious innovations, the charismo—an instrument that symbolizes the ever evolving nature of the band. The charismo is a collection of found objects, worn like a washboard, but played percussively like a drum set. The amalgamation of sounds from tin cans and scrap steel, often picked up on the road and attached to the one of a kind instrument, lend a one of a kind sound to the band, and a sound that changes just a bit as the years pass by.

Hackensaw Boys opens with “Things We’re Doing” a hot flatpicking number backed by atmospheric fiddle. Sickmen sings “the past, you’ll see, it ain’t no place to be,” encouraging a progressive outlook even as their music digs further into the well tilled soil of roots music for their original sound. By the second song “Mary Shelley” Hackensaw Boys are again breaking new ground. Sickmen is singing his level best about the myths that can be repeated so often they become our reality. It’s promethean in its structure, essentially an uptempo pop song played on acoustic instruments, propelled by ringing mandolin, jangling guitars and plucky charismo. The song is a years-long realization for Sickmen, who wrote it in Berlin over a decade ago. “As soon as we talked about making a new record the guys all asked if we could record the Mary Shelley song,” he says “so I realized that these experiences I’ve been living for years are the Hackensaw Boys sound”. The tempo does not let up on “The Weights” as the band achieves a full sound anchored by Chris Stevens deep, woody upright, fronted by Caleb Powers appropriately scratchy fiddle on a cheeky song about the weight of personality types on working relationships. Powers then switches to banjo, bounding in on the uptempo “Cages We’re Grown In” another song about turning adversity into advantage, celebrating the human spirit in the way only Hackensaw Boys can. Never resting on their laurels, Hackensaw Boys make the switch to a Texas two-stepper on “My Turn”. Sickmen sings in duet with Sara Beck (Kevin Costner & Modern West), and one can almost see couples shuffling across a roadhouse floor as Sickmen sings “I suppose if you leave, I’ll have it comin to me, and I’m beggin you to stay, and try to relearn to love me”. “These are songs I’ve been carrying around for years, I’ve found love and lost love and found it again since then, but these things stick with me”. Finding comfort in the hardpan of dirt road country, Hackensaw Boys cruise into “Stranger” shifting into four time on a song about taking a chance on a stranger as a method to better oneself. It’s clear Sickmen and the hand have been workshopping some of these songs for years. Now the band has come full circle, recording David’s most affecting material – full of their most vulnerable and honest songwriting.

Much has been made about Hackensaw Boys ability to constantly push forward in roots music since 1999, and rightfully so. Sure, their collective has at times seen now-famous solo artists such as John R. Miller and Pokey LaFarge among their ranks. Yes, they’ve shared stages with huge names ranging from Del McCoury to Modest Mouse. But what is perhaps most important about Hackensaw Boys is their steadfast commitment to leading new generations into a world of roots music that honors the legacy of the sound, while finding ways to forge ahead. They’ve got a sound so intentional and so original that one might even mistake the deep cut Bob Dylan cover “All I Really Want To Do” for a Hackensaw original, and it’s a testament to their own writing. Hackensaw Boys have found a way to spiritually combat the battle of attrition that eventually kills most bands, and it’s a straightforward one. They’ve simply remained true to their mission statement: “to raise a little hell, encourage a more peaceful world, and bring the music back to its roots in a working-class American vernacular.” Twenty three years in, they’re doing their best work.

Track Listing.

    1.  Things We’re Doing
    2.  Mary Shelley
    3.  The Weights
    4.  Cages We’re Grown In
    5.  My Turn
    6.  Old New Mexico
    7.  Strangers
    8.  Only On The Brightside
    9.  All I Really Want To Do
    10.  On Your Time
    11.  Rye Straw

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