Hank Dogs
Country of origin:
England
Type of music generally:
Contemporary folk, folk/rock
Status:
Most recent release, Half Smile, 2002 (US) and 2004 (UK)
See also:
Hank Dogs' brief Wikipedia entry
Comparisons:
Vocally Sandy Denny and Beth Orton
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Guitar-based contemporary folk and folk/rock music with gorgeous vocals and lovely harmonies. The lead singer, Piano, has a stunning voice, somewhat reminiscent of Sandy Denny and Beth Orton. (Neile)
Comments about live performance:
I saw them open for Joan Baez about a month ago, and I found them generally tedious. They seemed to have pretty nice harmonies, but the set was completely listless. I couldn't make out many of their lyrics, except they seemed to be generally downbeat. I thought their sound might actually play out well on disc (or maybe in a smaller club?). Half of the people around me thought they were terrible and played far too long (about a 45-minute opening set), while the other half bought their discs. (3/99, neal)
Recommended first album:
bareback
Recordings:
- bareback (1999)
- Half Smile (2002, 2004)
bareback
Release info:
1999—Hannibal Records—HNCD 1413
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for fans of contemporary folk
Group members:
Piano—vocals, guitar
Lily—vocals, drums
Andy—guitars, bass, drums, vocals
Guest artists:
Sam Harley—bass on 3 tracks, strat on 2 tracks
Marilyn Barker—drums on 2 tracks
Vince De Cicco—accordion on 2 tracks
Dom De Cicco—steel on 1 track
Frey Smith—double bass on 1 track
Mark Jordan—trumpet on 1 track
Amanda Easton—ambience on 1 track
Julia Palmer—cello on 1 track
Zeb Jameson—piano on 2 tracks
Produced by:
Hank Dogs (3 tracks); Hank Dogs with Sam Harley (3 tracks); Sam Harley with Hank Dogs (6 tracks); Executive Producer, Joe Boyd
Comments:
This is really lovely throughout, especially the harmonies, but there are two songs that totally knock me out and are the stuff of obsession: the painfully haunting "Let Go" and the Spanish-rhythm-based dark and spare title track, "Bareback". These are amazing, heart-wrenching songs. The rest of the album is tough and and lovely, but these: wow. (Neile)I had heard one song, "18 Dogs" on the radio once, and bought the CD based on that...glad I did, it's one of the best folk CDs I've heard in ages...produced by Joe Boyd, it's almost like stepping back in time 25 years. Musically it reminds me a bit of Pentangle, but with deeper vocals. (sspan)
Half Smile
Release info:
2002—Rykodisc/Carthage (US); 2004—Spinney (UK)—Spinney 004CD
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for folk fans
Group members:
Piano—vocals, guitar, sticks, accordion
Lily—vocals, drums, accordion, autoharp, percussion
Andy—vocals, guitars, bass, drums, mandolin, banjo, steel, e-bow
Dixie—love, inspiration
Guest artists:
Adam Kirk—dobro (5)
Jake Rousham—Fender Rhodes (6)
Julia Palmer—cello (9)
Jason NcNiff—guitar (11)
Matt Tweed—strang-up bass (12)
Produced by:
Hank Dogs; Executive producer, Joe Boyd
Comments:
The 2004 UK version has two extra tracks.I don't like this as much as their first. It's like the bulk of that album—really lovely harmonies and tunes, but still not my thing. I really like the two edgy tracks on their first one while the rest I can appreciate, especially the harmonies. (Neile)
Don't miss Half Smile. Arguably better than their first. (phclark@uswest.net)
