Review Summary: twang weedle DUN DUN twang
I guess Tiny Hawks TECHNICALLY is a math rock band. Their angular guitar playing and over the top drumming certainly pigeon hole them into that genre. But, they seem to draw subtly from two other realms; the Midwest emo scene mostly in the form of the praised Kinsella projects and also the post-hardcore scene that seemed to spring up after Slint’s demise. The band is cheerfully noisy and their vocals sometimes range from Kinsella cute yelps to Maximillian Colby like shout. Tiny Hawks originated from the Providence warehouse scene that has taken the world by storm in the form of Lightning Bolt, so obviously they do love their noise as well. Essentially, I guess they are an art rock group but with only two members (guitar and drums) they certainly have a lot of room to fill. And oh how they fill it.
“Fingers Become Bridges” is a 13 minute EP that runs through aggressive political math rock pop in what seems like much less. I pointed out the Kinsella influence and this mostly comes through in the high usage of lots of high notes in terms of guitaring. This gives the music a much more poppy feel and I guess it could also be rooted back to their scene, especially with bands like Lightning Bolt. Tiny Hawks implicates various designs for the songs. There are the twenty second technicality bursts like “You Got the Right”, there are the three minute “epics” that encompass lengthy instrumental sections as well as aggressive punk explosions like “The Things that You Belong to, and Those that Belong to You”, and finally there are the straight up crazy hardcore noise rock songs like “Four Days After Ariel Got Shot”. The release is unique in the fact that it seems to blur together to create a solid build up and break down of noise for its entire length. It is beautiful, destructive, and completely emotional.
Lyrically, Tiny Hawks follows in that are song lyrics are basically tiny haikus school of though. Their lyrics are the bare minimal but just like their music they have this awkward beauty to them. Closer “I Do Not Live in Love and Hate” simply just states “And what is left in the palm of your hand / is a measure of what to do with the weight of it / Towards the act of care in an age of waste / I do not live in love and hate. “ They are beautifully simple and passionately sung and it adds yet another layer to the really great sound these guys have going for them. They also tackle topics like the existential in “Maps,One” and the political in “Daniel’s Striped Tiger”.
For any fan of indie rock or to an extent emo, Tiny Hawks has some element you’ll want to latch on too. The poppy explosive power is catchy, the strained screamed vocals are emotional, and the intertwining guitar and drum interplay is technically impressive. In terms of labels, I guess Tiny Hawks is the heavy version of groups like Minus the Bear, American Football, and Maps and Atlases. So, if you like your pop, musically over the top Tiny Hawks is for you.
