Do all the decent bands come from Sweden? It certainly seems like it at the moment and The Hawkins are no exception to the rule. ”Live in the Woods” is an eclectic collection of tunes with a sound ranging between Tom Petty’s cool and the frantic pop of The Killers.

”Live in the Woods” was partly recorded in a deep Swedish forest, partly recorded in an abandoned barn, and partly recorded at Brasstacks Brewing.

In the download digital world, you get 7 cuts, but if you’re feeling saucy you can get an extra track on a cheeky slab of green vinyl. Well, it would be rude not to…

Disclaimer – Obviously being Swedish there is an undercurrent of Hellacopters throughout so I won’t mention them again today.

Kicking off with 4 tracks recorded live somewhere in the trees. ‘ Hilow’ is a cool slice of post-grunge Americana with a kind of Tom Petty meets Goo Goo Dolls vibe though it really doesn’t set the direction of the rest of the album. Next up ‘Stranger in the Next Room’ swings the listener off into a falsetto and funky world with only the slightest hint of the sound that came before it.

Still in the same forest “Black Gold’ flings us into a country super speed country barn dance with a little hint of The Darkness to it.

Finally, before we move indoors and the woodland field trip ends, ‘Libertine’ bringing a further shift towards Justin Hawkins (oooh fancy that) and Brandon Flowers vocally but with much more meat than their respective bands. Much heavier than the previous 3 tracks,  ‘Libertine’ takes the band to the borders of Muse territory….. but in a good way!

Side 2 takes us indoors to Brasstacks Brewing with ‘Roomer ‘. Certainly, as the album progresses I’m hearing more of a Killer’s feel, and coupled with ‘ Cut Moon Bleeds’, the full-on and massive sound is stepping further away from the Scandi-rock of the clubs and well into arena territory.

Finally ‘ Fisherman Blues’ takes us into the aforementioned barn. However, this barn must be located in Progsville as we’ve shifted musical style again. Sure it’s a heady mix of the Darkness and Muse though this may be 1 swerve too far for me.

All in all, a really good album mixing styles in and around a classic rock vibe.

Order the LP on green vinyl (with an extra track) from – Here

Find out more about The Hawkins here – Facebook / Website

Author: Fraser Munro