Keep 'Er Lit. Girl With A Hawk

Girl With A Hawk has released its debut mini album on Rum Bar. About a year ago the band released it's first single, 'Same Stars'. Since then you could have found the band twice more. These singles are all on Keep 'Er Lit, together with two new songs. I've decided to write anyway as this EP deserves all the attention it can get.

Girl With A Hawk takes the older listener, that I undeniably am in 2023, on a trip down to memory lane while providing all the energy that a fresh new album needs to come across and convince. Rest assured, Keep 'Er Lit does just that and then some I may add. All the names mentioned in my past reviews could be mentioned again but I let you figure them out for yourself.

What strikes me even more is the guitar work between Richard Lamphear, Daniel Coughlin and singer Linda Viens. Not so much duels as perfectly woven parts that are solos none the same. The album starts with a punk like riff, with clear garage rock influences from the 1960s, bringing the album straight into the late 70s. What is added is the singing of Viens. She sings like a backstreet angel in a punk disguise, hawk and all. The mix brings the song straight towards a perfect pop vehicle. 'The Romantic' is a perfect opening song, trapping all fans of this music instantly.

Here we have the absolute strength of Girl With A Hawk. The band manages to combine music from a few eras within itself. There's punk and new wave, garage rock, hardrock guitar riffs and solos and pop, even Motown singing and harmonies. This is all nice but then there are the band's songs themselves. All five stand out and have a quality lifting them above a lot of songs that came before.

I keep being amazed how 'Feel Me' explodes. How the lead guitar shows the deep emotions the lyrics share with the listener. And it all starts with that synth riff that suggested a 1980s song. This image is totally out of earshot and forgotten by the time the song sets my speakers ablaze.

What I can imagine is that playing live the band sounds a lot wilder. In the studio the sound was rather polished, taking a little away from what I can hear in my mind as well. The, supposed, neatness takes nothing away from the quality I'm hearing in all five songs. Girl With A Hawk has released a debut EP it can be very proud of.

That leaves me with a final compliment: the artwork is museum worthy. All credits to Kelly Davidson.

"This EP is dedicated to Justine Covault and her seminal label, Red on Red Records".

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Keep 'Er Lit here:

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/keep-er-lit