PREMIERE: Hooks and the Huckleberries Foresee the End on “Jemez”

You know when you fall in love and you think it might be one-sided, and the thrill of your day is just getting a glimpse of that person? That’s how I’ve felt about Hooks and the Huckleberries since I reviewed their debut album So Far Gone. I’m thrilled that they’re getting ready to hit the road again, this time with their sophomore salvo For the Love of Whatever, produced by Matt Pence (Jasob Isbell, Nikki Lane.) Fans of Lucero, Two Cow Garage, and Arliss Nancy — this New Mexico quartet is the band we’ve been waiting for. “Jemez” finds them pushing themselves even further than before.

“‘Jemez’ represents a turning point on the record where we swath listeners in sonic layers of emotive ambiance before they’re carried through the story of a dream prophesying a lonely death,” explains Adam Hooks. “Loss is an overarching theme of this album, but the loss in ‘Jemez’ is by choice, despite the heartbreak I endured because of it.”

Hooks frames his personal tragedy beautifully, the existentialism that only the desert can bring informing the song’s sonic spaciousness. Lyrically, the band folds the individual into the social and back, creating a community of loneliness and defiance.

The music is intended to paint a picture.

“This song is about grief and regret juxtaposed with the somber beauty of a simple life amongst nature and ancient tradition. An oscillating slide melody on the electric guitar moves back and forth between octaves like a slowing clock,” continues Hooks. “Haunted by dreams of death and at the same time comforted by the peace that it brings surrounded by grieving friends and family. The grief, loss, and love are embodied in a ghost.”

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