Gravity Wins!

ThunderhawkGravity Wins! (Thunderhawk V)

Thunderhawk singer/songwriter Josh Hall is down his basement, making a song for you – or so he claims on Thunderhawk V (also known as Gravity Wins!), a 12-song tour through the many indie rock sounds of the mid-90s. “Yes, I really am the guy down in his basement, writing every song and playing every instrument,” assured Hall in a recent interview (he also records, produces and masters all of his own music). Claiming to have over a dozen finished albums lying around, Gravity Wins! is Thunderhawk’s second officially released album, and, according to Hall’s off-and-on drummer Doug Market, it’s the band’s best yet.

Opening with a blast of bouncy horns Hall taught himself to play just for this album (yeah, he’s like that), “I’ve Got a Bullet with Your Name On It” is an instantly likeable opener with Malkmusian lyrics like “Tripped down the stairs / Head over heels / In love with a real psychotic girl / I think she could change / Or pick up a gun and blow out your brains.” Believe it or not, the overall vibe – as is the case with most of the lyrics on Gravity – is hopefull; Hall’s voice any delivery is nothing if not wholly friendly and loose.

Track two, “Molesterton Indiana (The Wolf),” just might be the most Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain-sounding song since that very landmark indie album itself came out. When Hall sings “I’m gonna get you high” repeatedly, you know he means it in a pure way, and when delivered over more horns and bouncy guitars, well, you wanna “get high” with the Thunderhawk. You wanna push the “repeat” button and – as the kids say – get blown. Somewhere around the three-minute mark the song buzzes off and in rolls a mini song called “The Wolf.” Any Pavement fan will instantly recognize this early album bonus track technique from the Slanted and Enchanted daze; this is just one of the many nostalgic nods to indie rock’s first golden era, an era when Hall’s heroes – Frank Black, Malkmus, Robert Pollard, etc. – were gods.

“Style Points” somehow bridges the gap between indie rock’s two busy periods, sound at once like both Sebadoh and The New Pornographers; like all of Gravity Wins!, it’s a fun, expertly executed song that never takes itself too seriously. Next up is “Movin On,” a song that could, should and would be a hit single if the right Mr. Moneybags heard it. It’s here where Hall’s Pixies influence first pops out, as he nearly howls “I’ve been away for a weekend / Maybe two years!” Two-and-a-half minutes pass and it’s becomes clear that Hall, hell bent on very well-equipped D.I.Y. production and ears for every brand of pop music from the Beatles to Ween, is the real deal. He really is the myth: the guy in his basement, accumulating a treasure chest of golden songs, not because he wants to get rich, but because it’s what he does. Maybe the right person “discovers” Hall someday, or maybe not, either way, Hall is making gold. Every song on Gravity Wins!, all of which have their own sound identity, is good.

The piano-driven “Older in Years” sounds both classic and heartbreaking: “Now that she hates me / I’m sad and I’m wasting / And I want a kid who looks just like her mother / And run with a hose as we chase one another / I’m older in years / But as long as I’m here / You’re older in years.” It’s a sad but hopefully song that leads into a Pixies-like back-and-forth assault called “Backlash,” which plays through like a three-minute version of Cameron Crowe’s definitive early-90s grunge film, Singles. As they say, “the hits keep coming.” Every song – all 12 of ‘em (not to mention the tail-end mini songs) – are great, and Hall has sequenced them expertly, making for a solid front-to-back listen.

Whether or not Hall ever finds his way “out of the basement” isn’t the issue here, but, rather, whether or not people outside of Hall’s current home of Muncie, Indiana will ever hear these songs. Until he is “discovered,” everyone who finds this album (or any of Thunderhawk’s maerial, really) will feel like they’ve discovered a treasure. The songs, style and know-how are all here, as is the heart, humor and diversity needed to make Gravity Wins! a “lifer” sort of album. Check out Thunderhawk online at www.myspace.com/thunderhawkband.  10/10

Written by G. William Locke