The Howling Hex

The project of Neil Hagerty, the Howling Hex is an outlet for some of the singer/songwriter/guitarist's most eclectic music -- which is saying something, considering that he fueled Pussy Galore's anti-rock cacophony in the '80s and blurred the boundaries between avant-noise and classic rock as one-half of Royal Trux in the '90s. The Howling Hex's early releases bore traces of both of those bands in their swampy experiments, but as time went on, Hagerty balanced the project's challenging side with more recognizable -- but still surprising -- nods to pop and rock on releases like 2005's All-Night Fox. As the Howling Hex continued, its unpredictability was its constant. Spanning the multimedia experience of 2005's You Can't Beat Tomorrow to the rangy jams of 2006's Nightclub Version of the Eternal in less than a year, Hagerty pushed the project's boundaries to their limits during the 2000s. In the decades that followed, the Howling Hex remained musically restless. On 2013's The Best of the Howling Hex and 2016's Denver, Hagerty reimagined traditional Mexican music as creatively as he interpreted blues, country, folk, and rock in the past, and even on 2020's relatively straightforward Knuckleball Express, he kept listeners guessing. After Royal Trux disbanded in 2001, Hagerty moved from Virginia to New Mexico and released a trio of solo albums -- 2001's Neil Michael Hagerty, 2002's Plays That Good Old Rock & Roll, and the following year's Neil Michael Hagerty & the Howling Hex -- before forming a band in 2003. Taking the group's name from his third solo album, it featured Hagerty and a cast of mostly anonymous supporting musicians. The band debuted later that year with Introducing the Howling Hex, a limited-edition, vinyl-only release with a rough sound that recalled Royal Trux excursions like Twin Infinitives and Hand of Glory. Appearing in 2004, The Return of the Third Tower and Section 2 were also vinyl releases in limited editions of 500, but allowed more of Hagerty's pop side to peek through the sludge, and introduced vocalist Lyn Madison. Early in 2005, the band's first album available on CD, All-Night Fox, arrived on Drag City. You Can't Beat Tomorrow, a CD and DVD set, appeared that November. Released in February 2006, 1-2-3 collected the early Howling Hex EPs; that September's Nightclub Version of the Eternal featured a stripped-down lineup and Hagerty's baritone guitar instead of bass. The Howling Hex went in a completely different direction for 2007's XI, with Hagerty assembling a band that included guitarist/vocalist Mike Signs, saxophonist/flutist/vocalist Rob Lee, and percussionist/vocalists Andy McLeod and Phil Jenks. Earth Junk, a collection of waltz-time tracks recorded in Austin that also supported a film by the same name, arrived in 2008. The sci-fi-inspired Rogue Moon followed in 2009 on the U.K. imprint Golden Lab, marking the project's first release on a label other than Drag City. Hagerty changed the project's lineup and direction again for 2011's Wilson Semiconductors, a rambling four-song set that featured him on guitar, bass, and electronics. That year, Hagerty moved to Denver and found new inspiration in the city's connection to traditional Mexican musical styles such as norteño and ranchera. On 2013's The Best of the Howling Hex, Hagerty returned to a full-band approach and took his cues from Narciso Martínez and Los Tigres del Norte. Hagerty then released a pair of limited-edition singles, 2014's Fool's Watch/Lord Gloves and the following year's Butterfly/Party Shoes. On 2016's Denver, he expanded on the "New Border Sound" of his previous full-length. For the next few years, Hagerty's focus shifted to the Royal Trux reunion that began in 2015. Along with playing dates in Los Angeles and New York, the duo issued the 2017 live album Platinum Tips & Ice-Cream. Early in 2018, Royal Trux moved to Fat Possum Records, which released White Stuff in March 2019. He returned to the Howling Hex with Knuckleball Express, a set of heavier, sprawling songs Hagerty recorded in eight days. Featuring vocalist/guitarist Nicole Lawrence, the album was released by Fat Possum in April 2020.
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