Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand
Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand
Novelty, Inc.
The term “melting pot” is often thrown around recklessly, but there is truly no other way to describe Seattle’s own Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand and its most recent self-titled release. Blending elements of free jazz, blues and bits of the heavier, plodding punk that influenced the grunge renaissance of the 1990s, the quartet takes pieces of things that appear dissonant to each other and somehow makes them work together. The result is a collection of songs that are far out, and yet still accessible and compelling. There is improvisation and chaos, but there’s also melody and balance. (Simon Weedn)