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CD
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SCRATCHY 097CD
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$13.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 1/17/2025
Hank Dogs is Andy Allan, his partner Piano, and Lily, Andy's daughter from a previous relationship. They started out at folk clubs in London in the early 1990s before going worldwide in 1998 when legendary producer and late '60s folk rock guru, Joe Boyd declared them the first British act he'd loved in 30 years. Their debut album Bareback saw them touring the US with Joan Baez and winning fans with their quiet, haunting sound featuring ethereal vocal harmonies, strong traces of blues and Celtic music and Allan's fluid acoustic finger-picking recalling UK folk guitarists such as John Renbourn. A follow up album Half Smile appeared in 2002 but this turned out to be their swansong. However, the story was not quite over yet -- a third unreleased album Fiveways had been recorded before they went their separate ways and now it's finally seeing the light of day on South London label Scratchy Records. Fiveways contains much of the Hank Dogs' trademark English folk/US country-straddling sound. Piano's voice bounces between early Suzanne Vega, Tracey Thorn and Mary Margaret O'Hara with occasional hints of Dolores Cranberry and Bridget St. John, while underneath the acoustic guitars run freeform tangled and Lily's backing vocals add sky. Stand out track "Logic" with its pensive lyrics and haunting guitar line recalls the way Suzanne Vega could sometimes make songs stand still in their tracks but it's the dreamy "Nut" that really captures the mood. It is the sound of two ex-lovers still able to work together but unable to hide the odd dig here and there. Andy sings a few songs too including the raggedy, swashbuckling "Gazetteer." This album is definitely one for the dreamers. FFO Pentangle, The Innocence Mission, and William Blake.
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LP
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SCRATCHY 096LP
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LP version. Hank Dogs is Andy Allan, his partner Piano, and Lily, Andy's daughter from a previous relationship. They started out at folk clubs in London in the early 1990s before going worldwide in 1998 when legendary producer and late '60s folk rock guru, Joe Boyd declared them the first British act he'd loved in 30 years. Their debut album Bareback saw them touring the US with Joan Baez and winning fans with their quiet, haunting sound featuring ethereal vocal harmonies, strong traces of blues and Celtic music and Allan's fluid acoustic finger-picking recalling UK folk guitarists such as John Renbourn. A follow up album Half Smile appeared in 2002 but this turned out to be their swansong. However, the story was not quite over yet -- a third unreleased album Fiveways had been recorded before they went their separate ways and now it's finally seeing the light of day on South London label Scratchy Records. Fiveways contains much of the Hank Dogs' trademark English folk/US country-straddling sound. Piano's voice bounces between early Suzanne Vega, Tracey Thorn and Mary Margaret O'Hara with occasional hints of Dolores Cranberry and Bridget St. John, while underneath the acoustic guitars run freeform tangled and Lily's backing vocals add sky. Stand out track "Logic" with its pensive lyrics and haunting guitar line recalls the way Suzanne Vega could sometimes make songs stand still in their tracks but it's the dreamy "Nut" that really captures the mood. It is the sound of two ex-lovers still able to work together but unable to hide the odd dig here and there. Andy sings a few songs too including the raggedy, swashbuckling "Gazetteer." This album is definitely one for the dreamers. FFO Pentangle, The Innocence Mission, and William Blake.
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CD
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SPINN 004CD
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Newly issued UK version on Vashti Bunyan's label, with 2 bonus tracks. US version was supposedly released in 2002 on SpinART, whatever the fuck that is... "As we all know Folk is having a big revival in 2004 with its many offshoot genres (Brit Folk/Laptop Folk/Folktronica/Country-Folk/Nu Folk etc ) encompassing a wide range of great artists from the likes of Laura Veirs and Laura Cantrell through to The Memory Band and Devendra Banhart. Here is a new, very special name to add to that list. Half Smile was recorded for Joe Boyd's Hannibal label (Boyd also produced the album) but was eventually picked up by spinART in the U.S. This version features 2 unreleased tracks ('Never Fails' & 'Heyday') and different artwork. Hank Dogs are a family who have been running the Easycome acoustic night for over a decade at the Ivy House in Peckham Rye and were arguably the progenitors of the whole nu-acoustic or nu-folk movement."
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