Mallory Hawk's debut arrives from Philadelphia with ten tracks of guitar-driven rock that pulls from grunge's weight and indie rock's melodic sense. Hawk handles most of the instruments, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, organ, percussion, while producer Samuel Acchione adds layers of 12-string, keyboard and extra guitars. Two different drummers split the album between them, and Logan Roth's piano and synth work on four tracks adds texture without softening the edges.
The recording splits between Headroom Studios and Retro City Studios, both in Philadelphia, with Mark Watter mixing and Elaine Rasnake mastering. Hawk's vocals sit forward in arrangements that favour live-band energy over studio polish. French horn and flugelhorn appear on "Four O' Clocks", an unexpected choice that works. Background vocals from Ava Mirzadegan and others thicken the choruses on a few songs without turning them into singalongs.
This is for people who want guitar music that remembers the 1990s but doesn't cosplay them. The production is clear enough to hear what everyone is playing, rough enough to keep it from sounding too considered. Hawk writes songs, not riffs with words attached, and the album holds together across its ten tracks without blurring into sameness.
