AJ Woods ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸ ⫸
Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, AJ Woods has been a part of the Southwest music scene for over a decade. He has released multiple full-length albums, a critically acclaimed EP, as well as singles and live recordings, earning comparisons to artists such as Jason Molina and Neil Young. Still, “Woods’ lyrical style, guitar playing and singing are his own—something that can’t often be said.” (Alibi)
Woods’ latest album, Hawk Is Listenin’, was recorded and produced by Jeremy Barnes and features a multigenerational cast of New Mexico musicians, including Heather Trost and Jimmy Stallings (JJ Light). The record received an 8/10 review from Uncut, which called it “suitably sun-baked, like Neil Young stumbling and lost in the Albuquerque heat.” KLOF Mag wrote that Hawk Is Listenin’ “looks inside the soul” and later included it in its 2024 Albums of the Year coverage, while Americana UK awarded the album 7/10.
Woods has shared bills with artists including Big Thief, The Handsome Family, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Jolie Holland and Jimmy Stallings, among many others. With music and lyrics that are “poignant and powerful” (ABQ Free Press), Woods creates not only songs, but “unpretentious poetry.” (Alibi) Earlier coverage from Folk Radio UK—now KLOF Mag—called his work “something exceptional,” selecting it as Song of the Day.
In times like these, Woods’ music and words are grounding forces. They take us back to the earth on which we live and depend, remind us that we have hearts, bones that break and heal, blood that leaves, blood we can share. They show we are related to, made by, and capable of many things.
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Hawk Is Listenin'
Perpetual Doom is proud to present Hawk is Listenin’—the new record from New Mexico singer-songwriter AJ Woods. A surreal journey through the myth and history of the Albuquerque, the Southwest, and the republic at large, Hawk is Listenin’ expands Woods’ poetic songwriting into powerful new landscapes. He brings together a remarkable ensemble of musicians, including members of Hawk and a Hacksaw, The Sir Douglas Quintent, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Heather Trost Band, and more, to deliver a remarkable statement on friendship, mourning, resistance, and the relentless flow of time.
“Albuquerque is a place paved over,” writes Woods of his hometown. “It is run through with the history of people and the wilderness together: ancestral, colonial, familial, personal.” No where are these multifaced dimensions of meaning more present than on the nearly seven-minute title track, where Woods enumerates a dreamlike catalog of images drawn from the human and natural worlds over a delicate arrangement repeatedly punctuated by a fiercely distorted guitar. As the song builds to a crescendo around the repeated phrase of the title, we discover a thread that runs through the record: not only must we pay attention to our vibrant, living world, but that world is also paying attention to us. It’s an idea that undergirds the mournful wail of “Wind on a Wildfire” and the desert dirge of “Coyote”—two songs that nod to nature as an enduring witness to human frailty.
Southwest music legend Jimmy Stallings joins Woods on a cover of his own “Gallup, NM,” harrowing yet lively account of his father’s mysterious death. Woods finds wider resonance in this strikingly personal account, something he attributes to his close relationship with Stallings: “Our friendship has a strong connection in both of our having lost a parent when we were kids. Jimmy deals with a hard topic in such a raw way…getting relief from something so heavy.” The same could be said of Hawk is Listenin’ as a whole, where Woods’ gift for lush compositions—made possible by a wide circle of loving collaborators—help us look closer at the harsh realities around us. There are the howls and rattles on the epic stunner “Gila,” which follows the twisting course of the river into the desert, the droning guitar and harsh cymbals of “Knife’s Edge,” where backyard chanting turns into a fuzzed out romp.
Recorded and produced by Jeremy Barnes at Sonido del Norte in Albuquerque, each of these tracks testifies to the universal power of local traditions, close-knit communities, and the remarkable urge to transform suffering into art. Speaking of New Mexico, Woods says, “As much as I love this place, it’s a sharp place…There’s a lot of suffering here. It can be hard to pay close attention.”
True as that may be, Hawk is Listenin’ makes it a little easier.
Press:
Release Date: September 20, 2024
Purchase from Official Store or Bandcamp
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