Good music is like buses: you go through a slow patch and then a whole bunch comes along all at once. Of course, unlike buses, you don’t have to pick and choose which bits to take, so who’s complaining? Recently-featured D33J turned me on to his old school-mate Hank May, who performs as Rock Dove. The two couldn’t really be more different: where D33J weaves together ambient bedroom beats, Hank is a singer in a rock and roll band (when you listen to “Rock And Roll Singer”, you’ll understand just how bad a joke that is).
It’s hardly surprising that these two seem perfectly capable of knocking out pure joy in their sleep: from what I gather, their Los Angeles high school was one of the more fecund pools of musical talent in the States. I’ll be sure to get back to you when I’ve finally had a proper listen to the extensive list of musical contemporaries that Hank fired at me; in the meantime, suffice to say it includes the likes of Luke Silas – drummer of chiptune champions Anamanaguchi - and Will Wiesenfeld – better known as Baths. I’m genuinely envious: I can only imagine the calibre of house parties at Hamilton High.
Hank himself has plenty of talent of his own. His debut EP, “Paper Boat”, is lean, mean, and at times rivals the common cold for catchiness. Also, it comes with a little origami boat with the lyrics on it. I haven’t tried constructing it yet – partly because I didn’t have a printer nearby, and partly because I’m almost completely handless – but it’s a pretty neat idea. The downside is that I have to hold my laptop at some odd angles to read the unprinted PDF, but hey: it’s worth it. The man can write lyrics. Mostly he uses this talent to vent about how crap life is in a big city.
It’s actually quite disconcerting to listen to a whole EP without any bass, drums, or other shenanigans. There’s just Hank, and a guitar, and the occasional overdubbed lead. Everything feels a lot more direct than usual. It conjures up the sort of feeling you get when your dozing off at four in the morning after a night on the bottle: hazy, relaxed, not hungover just yet but definitely heading that way. Obviously you can listen to the tracks whenever you feel like it, but for the record, you really ought to listen to them at the most ungodly hour possible.
Hank’s biggest influence is Modest Mouse, so clearly the guy has taste. I also thought I heard a touch of Pixies at times, and even (dare I say it?) Elliott Smith. He’s been working on (I quote) “robust and brain-throttling” full-band versions of the “Paper Boat” tracks, and is supposed to be recording a new EP in the next few weeks. Personally, I consider that very good news. I will say, though, that I really don’t think there is any better way of performing “Rock And Roll Singer” than as a stripped-back solo. After all, it takes a lot of balls to stand up and convincingly yell that, “baby, I’m a singer in a rock and roll band” when it’s just you and a guitar. And we all like balls. Right?
You can check out some highlights of “Paper Boat” below, or hit up the Connect links to hear and buy (name your price) the whole thing. Best served with healthy lashings of beer.
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Rock Dove – “Rock And Roll Singer”
Rock Dove – “Fun And Easy”
Rock Dove – “Filth”
Rock Dove – “Speed Trap”
