The Hackles, made up of Kati Claborn (vocals/guitar/banjo/clarinet), Luke Ydstie (vocals/guitar/bass/keys) and Halli Anderson (vocals/violin), release their album, What a beautiful thing I have made, today. It is available on CD and vinyl and digitally worldwide on Jealous Butcher Records. Listen to or order it HERE.
 
The Hackles released four singles prior to the album, starting with “Damn the word,” “a sweet, infectious banjo tune” (NPR) which was featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered in January. Bob Boilen said, "I'm in love with the melody for this song..." See the video here. “James’ drink”, their second single, was released with a video in January. “Birdcage,” their third single, premiered in February with Glide Magazine who raved, “Lovely layers of banjo and guitar interweave with powerful vocal harmonies that seems to capture the wild frontier spirit of the fishing town the band calls home.” The video for “Birdcage” premiered with The Bluegrass Situation in March. The final single, “Angela”, came out in mid-March, and Country Standard Time called it, “The gem of the release.”
 
Kati and Luke met in the mid-2000s when they both joined Blind Pilot. They hit it off both personally and creatively and decided to form their own musical project and The Hackles were born. In 2017, Halli, a member of River Whyless and Horse Feathers, moved to Astoria, OR, serendipitously just houses away from Kati and Luke. Their musical lives were already intertwined, Blind Pilot and River Whyless having toured together, but their newfound proximity led to collaboration on several fronts. Halli began recording and playing shows with the Hackles, and Kati and Luke stepped into the line-up of Horse Feathers, led by Halli’s partner Justin Ringle. When 2020 hit, they found themselves at home and unable to tour with their other bands, and began meeting regularly to write, play, and record together, with Halli being involved in the writing process for the first time.
 
What a beautiful thing I have made is infused with a sense of intimacy. An underlying tension is also palpable in several songs, the result of the world it was created in- more uncertain than ever and also smaller and more interconnected. The whole album is firmly rooted in place, created within a very small radius around where they all live, just above the Columbia River in Astoria, OR. Written and recorded at Luke & Kati’s  home and in the Astoria-based Rope Room studio, everyone involved lives nearby and are part of their musical community family.
 
The Hackles spent early 2023 on tour in Europe and the UK. Paul Kerr of Americana UK praised their performance in Scotland, “the three superb musicians and singers played a set which was at times almost hypnotic. The trio are so obviously in tune with each other that each song was a delight making this a gig to savour.” They have several Pacific Northwest shows scheduled for the Spring and Summer, including album release shows in Astoria, OR on April 7 at Labor Temple with The Horsenecks, tix here; Portland, OR on April 14th at Polaris Hall with The Horsenecks, tix here; and Seattle on April 19th at The Tractor Tavern with The Horsenecks & Led to Sea, tix here.
 
Information on other tour dates can be found on their website.
 
1. Damn the word
 2. Hum with the worms
 3. James' drink
 4. Angela
 5. Birdcage
 6. Pictures of Elvis
 7. Water for your bedside
 8. What a beautiful thing I have made
 9. Steve
10. Alligators
11. First time for everything