Quaker City Night Hawks - QCNH (2019)

The last time we heard from the Quaker City Night Hawks, they were traveling the country in support of their Lightning Rod Records debut, El Astronauta, an album that mixed the greasy strut of 1970s rock with doses of down-and-dirty Texas blues, science fiction, and Bible Belt boogie. The guys were Texans by birth, but their music whipped up its own geography. With its spacey, southern stomp, El Astronauta could've been the soundtrack for a road trip across the American desert…or even the house music for a weekend night at the Mos Eisley Cantina. Arriving two years later, 2018's QCNH ramps up that diversity with 10 new songs rooted in vintage R&B grooves, Stax-worthy funk, and guitarfueled psychedelia. "We've always been a rock & roll band," says Sam Anderson, who spits the band's singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing duties with David Matsler. "There's a big '70s influence and a strong southern element to everything we do. With this record, though, we're exploring the sounds we've haven't touched upon as often. It's the deepest we've ever gone into our influences, and the widest range of sounds we've ever tied together.