Another year, another A Hawk and a Hacksaw album, which is great because it means that I will get to see them live once again.

There are few acts more awe-inspiring than A Hawk and Hacksaw. The virtuosity with which they play their instruments is mind boggling*, and it's only increased by the fact that they play them at such tempos and rhythms completely in sync with each other. I believe that Jeremy Barnes (accordion) and Heather Trost (violin) must have some sort of psychic connection. To someone who can barely play guitar, what they do on stage---and off of it, since last time I saw them the audience thinned out so thoroughly they came down and played in the center of a small circle of us and it was like a religious experience for most of us still there---seems like black magic, pure and simple.

Cervantine, their new album, explores the meshing of New Mexico's Mexican influences with A Hawk and Hacksaw's normal Eastern European fair. The results are pretty fantastic. One song, "Espanola Kolo", is a homage to the New Mexico town of Espanola and to the Yugoslavian kolo dance... which makes me think of me and my girlfriend, since I'm predominately Yugoslavian and she's mostly Mexican. Awww!

The woman you hear singing on this song is Stephanie Hladowski, who, if you'd believe it, is only 25 and from Bradford in the UK. She's got quite a voice on her. I hope that when A Hawk and a Hacksaw come through Los Angeles at the beginning of March, they bring her with them.

If you're already a fan of A Hawk and a Hacksaw (and believe me, I can understand if you're not) then this album is sure to satisfy. If you're not yet a fan, maybe you will be if you give it a listen! And yes, people around you will look at you strange while you listen to this---but you can consider that a perk. No one at my job even gives me strange looks anymore when I play stuff like this. They just know that I'm weird.

* I was going to say mind-bottling to make a joke, but a quick Google search reveals that most people would think that is a "Blades of Glory" reference and I'd rather get my face torn off by a wolverine than have you think I'd reference that movie.