| Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; – William Butler Yeats, The Second Coming Sweden’s perfectly violent garage rock outfit, The Hawkins, are set to exploit their murderous new mini-album Aftermath in autumn 2021. The hard-as-nails first single is called “Svääng” and is out now, blowing minds and exploding eardrums, on all streaming platforms. Following the release of 2020’s incendiary device, Silence is a Bomb, and its affiliated live-album, Live in the Woods, The band decided to write and record a series of completely original musical crimes. The punchdrunken result is Aftermath, a manifesto written in blood on bruised skin about the destructive aftermath of past relationships. The band’s signature dark humor is presented as Strindbergian psychodrama. All angst is set afire. Nothing is held back. Johannes Carlsson, The Hawkins’ lead singer and guitarist, describes the cold heart of “Svääng.” “At that time I had no hope,” says Carlsson, “No future, no money and I saw everyone driving past me. So I started deeply scratching my forehead while screaming in panic. 10 minutes later I’m walking like a zombie. The angst morphed into frustration and I went to the studio to write and record ‘Svääng’. I jumped around in the studio with a blood-splattered forehead, legs shaking and screaming while playing every instrument. It was one of the most cathartic experiences I’ve ever had.” |
| With all of them born and raised within the same two-square-meter Swedish town, Albin, Johannes, Martin, and Mikael of The Hawkins have shared their musical journeys since they plucked their first chords. Initially the four energetic rascals floated happily through life. Every rehearsal was colourful, featuring loud drums, resonant guitars, filthy jokes echoing through the rehearsal halls, and cheap-ass beer flowing like an amber flood. True love and transcendent music had overtaken the four friends. But every relationship has its dark moments. In the summer of 2018 the band went touring in Poland and Slovakia. After a show the bus broke down in Wrocław, Poland. Everything they owned was inside it and the icing on the cake in the face was that Johannes forgot papers proving his ownership of the bus. Good job, dude. In 2015 while driving to a show, Johannes honestly considered crashing the bus at 110 km/h because he was so fed up with the three other guys. They had only been on the road for 15 minutes. While packing for the 2019 UK Tour, The Hawkins had to cancel the whole tour due to booking issues. This painful collapse happened a single day before their long-planned departure. Yet here they still are in 2021, ready to rock your nuts off with Aftermath. The Hawkins will never give up. The lads’ musical relationship grows stronger through the constant, tumultuous, ups and downs. That’s just how their broken bus rolls. |
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And here are some great old songs from The Hawkins:
