Hawk Asks on Their Latest Single, Have We “Lost Our Way?” [Premiere]

Have we really “Lost Our Way?” Have we as a people really run so far off course that we can’t find our way back, or redirect our “proper course?” It’s a question that the human race has continued to debate for decades if not centuries and it’s oh so topical given the current climate, wouldn’t you agree? Well, this very topic is the one that Hawk has decided to pursue with their latest track, appropriately titled “Lost Our Way.”

The single comes from the Chicago rock group’s latest album, Fly, due for release on May 15th. The band is the brainchild of David Hawkins, a multi-talented artist who not only excels at music, but has also maintained a successful career as an abstract painter, not to mention co-founded The Black Mountain Arts Collective, an avant-garde performance group inspired by Black Mountain College, the experimental arts college of the 1950s.

Hawkins put into perspective where he was coming from in writing “Lost Our Way” and how he views it both musically and thematically. “‘Lost Our Way’ is a lament for the human race. It’s about my concern for the future if we stay on our current path of abusing the earth, animals, and people of other races, genders and nations. It’s basically me explaining to my daughter that we, as humans, have collectively lost our way. It’s kind of heartbreaking. Inherent in that is obviously a hope for change, but this song gives voice to the despair.

“In spite of the heavy subject matter, or maybe because of it, there’s a real catharsis towards the end. The groove is grounded masterfully by Pete on drums, and features an incendiary lead guitar part by Ken, and when the song coalesces, just after the four minute mark, I feel like we achieve a moment of transcendence; my deep pain is transformed into something beautiful and moving. That’’s one of the ways music is so powerful and one of the reasons I make it; it can take a cry and turn it into a song. It’s transformative, like turning lead into gold.”

The Fly album is a sort of global project that was recorded around the world. Musically, it’s a real change from the band’s previous work with Hawkins and his mates now approaching recording from a noisier, more high-tech point of view as opposed to their usual tried, tested, and true rock formula. Hawk was originally planned to be a more personal project, but it somehow evolved into being a more star-studded affair, featuring Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, drummer Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello’s Attractions and Morgan Fisher of Mott The Hoople. Hawkins seems right at home among his well-regarded rock peers with Fly destined to stand out as one of Hawk’s best albums.

Have we “Lost Our Way?” Why don’t you hear Hawk out and then you can make your own distinction. That’s the beauty of rock n’ roll, is it not?

Artwork for “Fly” by Hawk