Review Summary: Promising new folk talent.
Gregory and the Hawk are about as indie as you get. The brainchild of a lone, romantically minded and talented young woman named Meredith Godreau (usually backed by a multitude of other musicians), the songs are minimalist slices of melancholy, which showcase Godreau's literate, engaging sense of poetic lyricism.
This EP is a part of the band's limited output to date, but it's a fine introduction for any newcomers. 'Boats and Birds' (the song) is archetypical of the band's sound. The ultra-minimal chord progression is a gentle backdrop for the lyrics, along with some hypnotic percussion. The album by no means belongs at raves. It belongs in an annex of your bedroom reserved for only the most chilled out of songs. Songs like the wintry 'Avalanche' and the wistful 'A Wish' evoke Paul Simon's early recordings in their loose vocal arrangements and showcase Godreau's own pretty siren. However, when put into the hands of a more ambitiously minded producer, Godreau's songs and words are really brought to vibrant life. While it was a mistake to include the awful remix of 'In Fact', the closing song 'Fin Song 8', as remixed by Orange River, is a haunting, passively beautiful song. Godreau's progression is coated with a warm distortion. The melody, lyrics and production are assemble here to produce something warm and wonderful.
Gregory and the Hawk have a distinctly different flavor from other more successful troubadours like Newton Faulkner, but the band is equally as talented and has potential. While the sense of minimalism is certainly retrogressive, the poetic lyrics are certainly not, and put in the hands of the right producer, Miss Godreau and her quiet-night-in ruminations could be as chilling and beautiful as any of those before her.
