On their latest single, The Hackles spin a nostalgic soundscape to soothe us through the summer.
The Hackles are masters of writing songs that can capture emotion and feeling with incredible detail. Take their latest release, for example: a two-sided single that captures the hazy itch of late summer.
Making Baby Keys in the Darkness melts dynamic folk melodies, soothing bass lines, and sparkles of violin into an uptempo, yet misty, sojourn that perfectly soundtracks those sultry summer weeks. Through in a gorgeous, clarinet-driven cover of Elyse Weinberg‘s Houses and you have a collection ready to soothe you to sleep as the warm sun dapples your face and the sweet air echoes through your window.
It’s nothing revolutionary to say that this year has erupted with no control, leaving us suspended in chaos. Whether by cooking, making art, or picking up a new hobby, many of us have turned our attention to the creative as a way to reground ourselves. The Hackles found their respite in their music, with Making Baby Keys in the Darkness emerging to document the tail.
Rooted in lockdown, the single’s ‘A-Side’ chronicles the dazey nostalgia of summer’s dog days through interlaced harmonies. Violin, lap steel, and clarinet each blossom through the song, conjuring images of a lazy Sunday afternoon, where the heat slowly calls your eyes to close.
The single’s ‘B-Side’, Houses, celebrates the weather-worn melodies of its original but brings a dusty, earthiness to the track through rich clarinet and trumpet melodies.
“Their latest single, Making Baby Keys in the Darkness, is a hazy, dog-days-of-summer song,” the band’s bio reads. “Rhodes, lap steel & clarinet stretch and snake around the rhythm section & three-part harmonies. The ‘B-Side’ to this single, Houses, was written Elyse Weinberg and originally released in 1968. The Hackles version trades electric guitar for trumpet, violin and clarinet while honouring the crooked timing & immediacy of the original.”
This smooth and sultry collection is the Oregon duo at their finest; clever composition and evocative melodies that leave you feeling richer just for being in their presence.
Dive into the single below:
