The Third Eye

Sometimes, I like to imagine a big weird party where all the troubadours and songwriters from the Perpetual Doom label are gathered. 

Lee Baggett is holding court, telling wild tales of his past lives as a butterfly and a tree, while Austin Leonard Jones cooks up steaks on the grill and listens with a ferocious gleam in his eyes.

Tommy Oliverio is around somewhere, rummaging through the kitchen for the perfect side dish for the backyard feast, and everyone is arguing over what music should be playing on the dusty turntable. Ryan Pollie is busy recording every strange clink, clank, and bizarre noise for his next experimental record, while BenBen is extolling gnome rock’s virtues and philosophical underpinnings.

If such a party were to happen, replete with tall tales and imaginary friends, AJ Woods would be hyper-focused on whatever wildlife he could spot from his perch. He’d have plenty of his own stories to tell, too.

Woods’ new record, Hawk Is Listen’, is an ode to Albuquerque and his New Mexican home, but it’s much more than just that. It’s a collection of cosmic folk and oddball songwriting that channels the past’s classic troubadours while adding rougher tunes to create a deeply personal record that feels mythic in proportions.

Woods is joined on the record by a talented group of collaborators, all of whom add layers and complexity to a richly textured album that gets to the heart of his hometown’s loneliness, charm, desperation, and sharp edges.

“Coyote” is a prime example of the record’s potent beauty. The poetic lyrics and minimalist style make it sound like a desperado Jackson Browne, and you can almost hear the dust kicking up with each pluck of Woods’s guitar.

“Knife’s Edge” is an unexpected tune. The jarring noise and dark poetry bring us to the shadow side of New Mexico, where life is precarious and sometimes dangerous. “Middle Fork” has a similar Southwestern Gothic feel. The song has lush arrangements that creak and soar and is accompanied by a Dylanesque harmonica in some sections, which adds to its depth and intricate grace. 

“Wind on a Wildfire” captures the foreboding beauty of something that has become increasingly common in the western U.S. With each wildfire season worsening, Woods and company personify the natural disaster and give it a grand sonic ode that feels less like a lamentation and more like a study of awe for nature’s power.

The record’s centerpiece is the title track, also the first song. The song is an in-the-moment series of observations of Woods’ New Mexican terrain. It reminds us that we are also being observed while we go about our business, and the repetition and fluid descriptive language is excellent. Remember that the hawks are listenin’.

You can’t go wrong with a Perpetual Doom release, and Woods’s new record further proves that. Take a trip to Woods’ New Mexico, where the rugged beauty is glorious and terror-filled. Woods is an excellent tour guide, and beyond the storytelling, each track radiates with a quiet and dark intensity. Enjoy!

Check out The Hawk Is Listenin’ by AJ Woods on Bandcamp here.

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