If Britpop had happened in the ’60s and arrived, not on the back of the formative flames of indie and the dying embers of post-punk but fuelled by the new blues-rock sound and echoes of earlier psychedelic sonics, then it may have sounded a lot like this.
“Ramona,” the new one from Howling Hawk, is a mercurial musical marvel that seems to blend sounds and styles with little business hanging out together, but it works. By God, it works.
For every Britpop touch, there is an equal amount of evocative electric blues; for every indie move, there is a retro rock groove; for every slice of pop contagion, there is an additional helping of slow and seductive R&B swagger. Opposites, perhaps, but you know what they say about opposites and how they attract each other?
It’s a fantastic song, one that seems unhurried, louche, and languid, but deliberately so, a song that aims to impress but isn’t in a rush to do so, knowing that you’ll get there eventually. Nothing is forced, nothing is fake, which makes it seem less and less Britpoppy with every play. Sure, it has a few of that scene’s hallmarks, but here, they seem authentic, honest, and serving the song rather than the crowd’s expectations and the artist’s ego.
No, “Ramona” is the real deal. When was the last time you encountered that? Not for a while, I’ll wager.
