REVIEWS

THE HAWKS OBVIOUSLY 5 BELIEVERS

Seventeen (Limited-Edition LP)

From 1979 until the end of 1981, The Hawks made music that bridged punk with the retro mod sound that would begin with bands like Stone Roses, Blur and others. They were kids that had great energy, swagger and style. They also had tons of talent. What they didn’t have was a champion who could help them secure a big label deal or find a path forward vision. The Hawks ultimately would release only one single, “Words of Hope,” but they did assemble an impressive collection of cassette demos. That wasn’t enough to keep the act together. From there a variety of lineups and names took the initial concept of The Hawks forward, but no new incarnation could match the remarkable simplicity of that writing and the impressive dynamic of their musicianship.

Fast forward to 2019 when Hawks founder Stephen Duffy and Dave Kusworth last met. Kusworth asked Duffy, who had become custodian of the “cassette archive,” to curate the best tracks into a record. It would be Kusworth’s last request before he passed away the following year. Duffy ran with the request and the result is a record that captures a group of 19-year-olds from Birmingham who were taking a big bite out of life and making music that would live forever. Grammy-winning engineer John Paterno was recruited to bring his extraordinary mastering skills to the project. Paterno took 40-year-old songs