Hawk’s I’m On Fire is clearly influenced by some of rock’s greats like AC-DC and Rolling Stones. Yet, Hawk has an indefinable ability to bring the past to now. I, for one, believe that you cannot help but be inspired by those that come before you, but you can help from being a copy. In their now remastered I’m On Fire, Hawk shows listeners how to be inspired from others while giving fresh inspiration of your own. From head to toe, I’m On Fire is a fantastic album, in part. because you feel the guitar riffs of Angus and Malcolm Young from ACDC and the drums of Charlie Watts from Rolling Stones. Uniting these forces in motivation gives Hawk a heavy pulse like a man panting from adrenaline. You feel the blood/ rhythms surging to your brain in songs like “I’m On Fire”, “Mother Head”, and “Turn Up The Radio” that are dedicated to the singular second in life where you have to decide, “Do I Leap Forward or Stay Behind?”. Like classic rockers, thematically they find their music in the pinnacle of big moments and epiphanies like in, “You & Me” and “Topanga” where there seems to be a feeling that love has changed their life. They represent the alterations life by driving listener’s heart rates through compositions that sound and feel metallic: they are bright like light hitting metal but never lose their density. This helps to assure that the record never gets too sappy or soft during songs like “C’mon Edie”, “Higher”, and “Sunshine”. Though they may get down, Hawk always wants you to feel like “up” is the only option for seeing life.
Even in sentimentality Hawk wants you to feel like a sweater being pulled at the seams; as their music tugs at you, your mental threads loosen. That ability to make you feel loose and ready to move makes their album both vulnerable and exhilarating, which is why they sound so much like the rockers of the past; Hawk has found that it is not just classic rock n’ roll sounds that inspire but the style of its spirit. It is that discovery that has convinced Hawk that I’m On Fire is a classic record in its own right and worth re-releasing, which I agree. In looking to classic, garage rock for stylish counsel, Hawk has made their album one that shows being sensitive does not mean being soft. This record excels in listeners’ response and approach because it makes vulnerability sound like a rocket-ship headed to Mars and not some dainty flower withering in old dirt.
Being open means being alive, and in I’m On Fire, Hawk has infused a vivaciousness to their gritty alternative country sound and lyricism. Though their previous works were solid and good in their own right, in I’m On Fire Hawk has upped their usual ” heart on their sleeve” mentality into a force that shows such an accomplishment should have an energizing tempo to celebrate it. After all there is no need for feeling or looking down when I’m On Fire (lol)!. Moreover, there is no need to feel any less than fire when your next album, which could arrive as early as next year, is confirmed to feature legendary guests such as Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, R.E.M., Big Star) and longtime Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas. WHOA! For More Information On Hawk and to buy I’m On FireClick Here.
