At last, it has happened. A new album by The Howling Hex is on the way, promising kinda weird indie rock, cryptic titles like "O Why, Sports Coat?" and... ranchero music. According to a recent press release from the Hex's label home, Drag City, the band -- with records released under both the Howling Hex moniker and mastermind Neil Michael Hagerty's given name -- will release Earth Junk on September 23, 2008. Could September 23 get any better????
And now, a little background because there's not really much left to this story without it: The Howling Hex started up as the brainchild of New Mexico resident Hagerty, who lives half an hour from the border of Old Mexico, or "Ol' Mexico" like the name of a popular (?) restaurant near my hometown. The band features a revolving cast of musicians, the only constant being Hagerty, a man with considerably more ambition than me, as evidenced by his band's previous eight albums and his two published books.
Earth Junk, the band's ninth album, promises a "Mexican polka" flair, lots of fuzz, and basslines played on organs! What more could you ask for in an early autumn release?
Earth Junk tracklisting:
