Hogjaw
Devil in the Details
reviewed by Gary Levinson
Hogjaw’s music is transcendental: I turned it on, sat down on our listening couch to take it in, and suddenly I was transported to I-95. I was sitting behind the wheel of an 18-Wheeler and yappin’ into my CB radio: “breaker one nine, breaker one nine, c’mon back gooooood buddy!”
This hard southern rock music (aka Trucker Music) reminded me of ZZ-Top, or perhaps the earlier music of Lynyrd Skynyrd. They have a clean production style which shows off the interplay of Craig Self, Jonboat Jones, and Elvis D’s rhythmic guitar riffs and Kwal’s strong percussion.
Their songs are about life on the road, which is really a mirror of life in general. Their songs are about people and their relationships, and the difficulties of dealing with the human experience of life.
I do have one caveat about the album, and it’s that some of the songs appear to romanticize the use of alcohol. No one really likes being stupid, or drunk, or sick (the next day); and while the alcoholic intoxication can be interesting for a few times when one is a teenager, the experience gets old fast.
But anyway: If you like hard southern rock, you’re sure to like Hogjaw.
Reviewed by Gary Levinson
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