Hawkes elevates Americana sound with polished sophomore release

"Because I Feel That Way Too" is the newest sophomore release from Chris Hawkes. Released on April 22, 2009 Hawkes performed his songs at the CD release show at The Parish.

For someone who normally reviews indie pop albums, watching this Americana singer was a welcome change.

Normally a solo act, Hawkes was joined with three other musicians: Douglas Jay Boyd, Michael Christmas and Benjamin Smith. Imagine my surprise when Hawkes informed me that this lineup had only been together for three shows, because the songs were tightly executed and the harmonies were nailed each time.

It was clarified later that they actually play in other bands with each other, which explains why they play so well together. Hawkes and Boyd play in "Douglas Jay Boyd" together, and Smith and Christmas play in "James Kinney" with each other.

"Michael is pretty new, but Michael also plays with Ben in another band," explained Hawkes. "And he plays with Doug and me in another band."

"I really think it's familiarity with the material," said Boyd. "We're comfortable with the material. We know where it's going."

"And each other's as well," continued Hawkes.

The actual recording "Because I Feel That Way Too" is a more polished version of Hawkes' music. Since Hawkes is also a producer during the day, the songs don't sound over-tweaked.

The last song "House Jam" is my personal favorite. The track wraps up the album in a celebratory manner and it consists of some of the musicians who contributed during the recording process. "House Jam" captivated the comradery and laidback vibe and really allowed the listener, vicariously, to be present in the room for the friendly gathering.

"It's literally 12 people that just came over to the house to sort of celebrate the culmination of the record and met each other," said Hawkes. "We just hung out, jammed a few tunes, and put them on the end of the disc."