From the full and addictive beats arises the melody of two guitars strumming parts in perfect harmony. The voices of the Brothers Houck quickly follow suit, weaving a blanket of sound that lulls the surrounding crowd into a near hypnotic state: swaying and singing, carried away by the music. Mysterious, meaningful lyrics compel listeners to happily follow the Hungry Villagers where ever they may lead.
It’s no mistake that brothers Jacob, Abraham and David Houck of the Hungry Villagers can have this affect on music lovers. Starting in 2006, the three musicians made their way one by one to Houston. This was part of the Houck family’s extended exodus out of Africa to return to America. The Houck progeny, sons and daughters of missionary musicians, were raised with music on the road in Southern Africa, and all across the mid-western states.
Somehow David, Jacob and Abraham found themselves in Houston, with no real plan or map. There they met drummer Ferrick Hallaron IV. Songs started appearing, creeping out of the cracks in the walls and blowing in on hurricane winds.
A recent event listing in the Houston Chronicle said “Hungry Villagers make dramatic use of a quiet/loud dynamic with songs that are beautifully ominous and moody. They’re also crafty with tempo, sending their songs into interesting directions.”
An early review in the Houston Press labeled the band “Houston’s newest contenders for national notoriety,” and warned readers that “when you start hearing this stuff plastered all over blogs from here to London, don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
In a book of photos put together after the band’s debut record was finished, Honey Claws member Traey Hatch wrote a hyper-excited, love-filled intro saying, “Ninjas. Pimps. Crash Cymbals. Couch trips. Bus rides. A hot studio. Yelling, screaming, laughing. Too much beer, too little sleep. Overtime, overworked, overcoming adversity. Racquetball, running and Honey, claws that is. Hyena Scowl, yeah clowns, that’s right. Fuck it, we had fun and made some killer music!”
And therein lies the essence of the Austin-based band’s self-titled debut record. Its 14 tracks are based on that brand of playful, creative, wild-eyed, stream-of-consciousness energy. Multi-instrumentalists every one, the four-piece group moves through 49 minutes of innovative experimental hip-hop psychedelia that’s equal parts Panda Bear as it is Madlib.
The record is, at its very heart, an electronic animal, and when its heart beats you feel the floor shaking from sixty-six blocks away. Sexed-up beats pulse thick with electro bass while a whole pile of robotic trippiness blankets the sound in a way that recalls likeminded souls Daft Punk, Odelay-era Beck, and Kraftwerk. Still, the sound is all their own. Without Honey Claws there would be no Honey Claws music. Without Honey Claws music there would be no Honey Claws. It is a unique and new creature unto itself. American musical evolution incarnate.
According to a 3hive.com write-up, “Honey Claws is just the sort of thing I’d hope to run into at 1 am, my feet weary from the walking, my head hurting from all the rocking, but these grooves would buoy me up for another couple hours.”
Put on Honey Claws’ debut and consider yourself buoyed. Band-mates Thomas Sahs, Ben Wah, and Traey Hatch lay down the tapestry of summer love trip-out jam funk while Jon Von Letscher drops beats alongside his half-lovelorn/half-crunked-up rhymes with all the power of the Oxford English Dictionary dosed up on E.
Here’s your invitation to the sickest party of the summer.
The Hungry Villagers released their debut single, Little Fingers, at Cactus Music on March 28. Check out photos and a video from the party.
Abraham and Jacob perform an acoustic version of “Sleeping With My Milk.”
Sleeping With My Milk from Hungry Villagers on Vimeo.
