the black hens

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SL City Weekly Review:
THE BLACK HENS, NORFOLK & WESTERN The Black Hens’ recorded material is solid, but it hardly does the local group justice. Something magical happens when the foursome steps onstage—be it a proper platform or, in the case of one recent gig, the back corner of a Torrey pizza shop. Powered by principal songwriters Glade Sowards and David Williams, the group locks into a righteous groove the moment Sowards strikes the first chord on his bitchin’ Rickenbacker. Williams and Sowards dig deep to unfurl the true strength of their words—lyrics that 10, 20 ... heck, maybe 50 years from now will resonate just as clearly as they do today. Honest, no-frills ruminations paired with classic rock/pop melodies and male/female harmonies with Jeremi Hanson hitting the high notes. Tonight, The Black Hens open for Portland’s Norlfolk & Western, another killer Hush Records act (Laura Gibson, Nick Jaina) lead by Adam Selzer (who produced new releases by Weinland, She & Him and M. Ward) and—increasingly—Rachel Blumberg (ex-Decemberists). The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 10 p.m. Tickets: 24Tix.com (with Weinland)
--Jamie Gadette
SLUG Magazine Review
The Black Hens - Albuquerque (BearTalk)
The Black Hens = Band of Annuals + the byrds + Rilo Kiley on Lunesta
The Black Hens started as a fluke; a thrown together project birthed from a one-off jam session with SLC folk powerhouses: Glade, David Williams, Band of Annuals members jeremi Hanson and Brent Dreiling while in … you guessed it, Albuquerque. Over the course of three long days, The Black Hens officially formed, played a gig at Launch Pad and recorded their debut release with the help of New Mexico friends, Jeffrey Richards (Hazeldine, Vic Chesnutt, Nels Andrews,Neutral Milk Hotel) & Chris Kitchen (Brightcarvers). Together they create a gentle (yet rockin’), feel-good sound just twangy enough to add the "-country" after "alt." The buttery male/female backup harmonies on all six tracks are contagious. Fans of David Williams’ solo work will be pleased to hear an alternate version of "Summer" included on this release. (nobrow: 03.18) –Sasha Kent