Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South

VINYL FORMAT. Investigating morality and individual responsibility, Ha Ha Tonka take listeners on a complex tour of the South - through lynchings and mob violence, sacrifice and reconciliation. On the two trails of life, how does your history affect your present, and how much can you change the future?

It's dense subject matter for any artist, but delivered beautifully on this record by Springfield, MO native sons Ha Ha Tonka. Named after an Ozarks state park, the band has earned comparisons to Kings of Leon, Old 97s and Fleet Foxes. Following their last record, 2007's critically lauded Buckle in the Bible Belt, the band gathered up their four-part harmonies and tore across the nation, opening for Ben Kweller, Backyard Tire Fire and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin before their well-received show at Lollapalooza 2008. This record, driven but contemplative, mysterious but clean, delicate but much more guitar-heavy than the previous effort, is the next logical step in their musical journey - and an amazing step, we think.