Some artists arrive with quiet footsteps, and some burst through the door carrying an entire orchestra. “Hawk in the Nest,” the self-titled debut full-length album from Avi Jacob’s full-band project, is the latter—a sweeping, soul-rich blend of indie pop and rhythm & blues that feels like a living heartbeat. With horn sections that glow like sunlight through stained glass, strings and rhythm arrangements that churn with cinematic weight, and vocals that tear straight through bone to nerve, this album is felt. Recorded with producer and drummer Wolfgang Zimmerman—known for producing Band of Horses’ #1 hit Crutch—alongside bassist Joel Hamilton, pianist Noah Jones of The Psycodelics, and horn player Michael Quinn of Doom Flamingo, the record is a masterclass in musical architecture. It’s the kind of debut that sounds like a career already decades deep, crafted with the precision of a veteran and the hunger of an artist who has finally found his wings.
The album opens with the explosive lead single “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” an instant classic in the making—equal parts R&B groove, horn-driven pop, and gritty Americana swagger. It swings and pulses like a live performance caught in a flash of adrenaline, announcing without hesitation that this project refuses to play it safe. The horn section glitters and growls, the rhythm section locks in with muscular confidence, and Avi Jacob’s voice—rich, raspy, undeniably human—cuts through the arrangement like a confession shouted at midnight. It has the kind of emotional urgency we associate with Otis Redding or Ray Lamontagne: a plea, a surrender, and a victory all at once. The song serves as a poignant reminder that heartbreak can be both bruising and beautiful, setting the stage for the emotional excavation that follows.
Where the opener storms, “Baby Baby Baby Baby” floats. Dreamy, tender, and slow-burning, the arrangement invites listeners into a softer interior world, where Jacob’s vocal becomes a gentle ache rather than a burst of flame. The track feels like the quiet moment between breaths when a heart decides whether to break or heal. Shimmering piano from Noah Jones and lush horn swells from Michael Quinn create the sense of an old-soul torch song dressed in modern production—nostalgic without being derivative, intimate without losing scale. It is one of the rare love songs that refuses to be embarrassing or sentimental; instead, it trembles in the raw place where vulnerability and devotion meet.
The emotional centre of the record deepens further with “Crutch” and “Naked,” two tracks that peel back the narrative layers and expose the bruised underbelly of personal reckoning. “Crutch” is gritty and percussive, a confession about reliance and weakness wrapped in a groove that refuses to collapse even as the lyrics beg for stability. Jacob’s storytelling—shaped by a lifetime of folk instinct and sharpened by indie pop sensibility—lands here with devastating honesty. “Naked,” on the other hand, strips everything away. It’s a burning spotlight, a song about standing without armour, trembling but resolute. The production is restrained, letting Avi’s voice shoulder the weight. These tracks showcase his ability to write with devastating minimalism even while backed by a full ensemble.
The album’s title track, “Hawk in the Nest,” is a defining moment—anthemic, cinematic, and spiritually alive. It feels like a thesis statement disguised as a hymn. In its soaring crescendos and introspective passages, listeners can hear echoes of Leonard Cohen’s poetic solemnity and Paul Simon’s rhythmic intelligence. The metaphor of the hawk—watchful, wounded, powerful, rising—threads through the album’s emotional fabric, suggesting rebirth after ruin and courage after collapse. In a project clearly rooted in personal truth, this track stands as confession and declaration.
Midway through the record, “Deyanu” introduces a surprising cultural turn, building on Avi Jacob’s Jewish heritage. The title, meaning “it would have been enough,” resonates like a prayer spoken through modern instrumentation—a song of gratitude, survival, and spiritual endurance. Its placement in the tracklist becomes a narrative key, reminding listeners that pain and celebration can coexist, and that resilience is rarely silent. “Tears Like a River” follows with swelling emotional release, a cathartic flood carried by soulful instrumentation and vocal performance that feels like witnessing a private breakdown turned public triumph.
The closing track, “Ex-Text,” returns us to the world of contemporary heartbreak but with newfound clarity. Pulse-driven and subtly humorous beneath its ache, the song captures the maddening spiral of digital connection—the ghost of love living inside a glowing screen. It’s modern but timeless, a perfect final note of humanity that grounds the album’s grand emotional arcs.
What makes “Hawk in the Nest” extraordinary is not only its musical infrastructure, though its orchestral richness and intricate arrangements are unmatched in the current indie landscape. Nor is it only the calibre of collaborators, though Zimmerman, Hamilton, Jones, and Quinn elevate the record into a realm that could easily stand beside Alabama Shakes, Lake Street Dive, or Ray Lamontagne. It is the spirit behind the music—the earnest devotion to art as survival and connection—that transforms this album from impressive to unforgettable. Avi Jacob has lived the kind of story that stains the voice and deepens the lyric: from Boston’s DIY scene and 200-show years, to touring with legends, to industry recognition, to artistic rebirth. His North Star is his son, Elias, and you can feel that heart in every measure.
“Hawk in the Nest” demands to be felt—in the chest, in the bones, in the aching spaces we try to hide. It is the sound of a songwriter stepping fully into his purpose, of a band lifting him skyward, and of an album that will endure long after its final note. So lean in. Turn it up. Let it cut and let it heal. This album is proof that music can still change something inside you. And that, in itself, is enough.
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