I’m trying to do way too much these days (new clients, music events, teaching my dog that the thunder isn’t trying to kill her) so I haven’t really had time to post, but I wanted to drop a quick plug for The Hackensaw Boys new album Look Out, which comes out tomorrow. I think they’re on about their sixth or seventh incarnation (I remember the first time I saw them, there were eleven or twelve of them crammed onto a tiny stage in a bar in Brooklyn), and this new album has a very different sound.

They’re still one of the best live bands I’ve seen, but I think what sets this album apart from their other studio efforts is that they quit struggling to capture that live energy, and resigned themselves to making a beautiful studio album. It’s just like in design—constraints are your friends if you stop fighting against them. Some of the tunes (especially the ones by Jesse Fiske) remind me of these fantastic vinyl albums that are part of the collection I inherited (stole?) from my Dad by Dan Hick and his Hot Licks. Really great, timeless stuff.