Hudson Falcons - Peace Of Mind

Ring Of Fire Records / East Grand Record Company

If there is one band who often gets compared to the Boss by the ‘bigger music magazines’ it has to be The Gaslight Anthem. To some level they are absolutely right, the influenced sound and vocals are spot on, but there is one major difference, the working class ethics brought out through the lyrics. Because no matter how rich and famous Bruce Springsteen has been over the past 40 years, he’s always been the voice of the working man while, especially these days, The Gaslight Anthem is the voice of bearded hipsters in flannel shirts. If only the mass media ever heard of the Hudson Falcons…

The Hudson Falcons always stood for workers’ rights ever since their first EP “Revolution” was released in 1997. But unlike the above mentioned artists their, might I add fantastic, releases never made Mark Linskey and co. rich or famous and fans from Veenendaal, the Netherlands to Los Angeles, USA had to chip in to get the Hudson Falcons back into the studio. The result is the brand new album “Peace Of Mind”, released in Europe through Ring Of Fire Records (CD/LP) and East Grand Record Company (LP) in the USA.

Although a lot has changed since 1997, such as the band’s line-up and the shifted sound from Oi! and streetpunk to rock ‘n’ roll, I personally think it hasn’t changed for the worse. Sure, I love Oi! and hardcore music, but I have all releases (and then some) releases of Bruce Springsteen as well in my collection and perhaps “Peace Of Mind” is more influenced than ever by Bruce and his E Street Band. Just imagine a mix of “Born To Run” and “Nebreska” with a raw streetpunk edge and you get an idea of what the new Hudson Falcons’ album sounds like. Lots of acoustic work, the usage of a piano and an organ, the incredible storytelling and heartfelt lyrics, Mark’s great voice… they’re all responsible for amazing songs such as “Don’t Waste The Burn”, “Tires Never Leave The Ground”, “We’ll Fight Back”, “Lay Down My Head”, “Another Whiskey Morning” and “We Need A Union Now”.

“Peace Of Mind” is in my opinion an amazing album from start to finish, from the working class rock’n’roll anthems to the personal, melancholic (semi-)acoustic tracks, Mark and his Hudson Falcons really outdid themselves on this album. An album I could listen to over and over and over again…