Album: retreat from the sun
Year: 1997
. . .
One of the things I’m not sure of is why retreat from the sun’s three greatest songs are all named after places — which makes the lower case stylization of the song titles even artier or weirder or funnier or something — but here we are, as “hawthorne” followed hard upon the heels of “long island,” and “minneapolis,” and was somehow more powerful and melancholic than either one.
Which, as you know, is utter catnip for your humble scribe.
Unlike “long island” or “minneapolis,” the city of Hawthorne — in the armpit of the 405 and 105 in Southern LA County — is never invoked in the lyrics, and yet, it’s the only one of the three that actually takes place in the titular city, as we open up with Anna Waronker somewhere in Hawthorne all by herself armed an acoustic guitar and a mission.
Driving
Looking for your parents’ house
Striving
To find a piece of you
Since “hawthorne” opens in medias res, we never know why Waronker is doing those things, but her voice makes it sound like she’s trying to discover something about you that you don’t necessarily want her to know. Or maybe it never occurred to you that she’d want to know you as much as she wants to, you fucking asshole. And so, “hawthorne” continues in that mode into the first chorus, only with Petra Haden coming in for support before the first line of the chorus is even over.
And I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you
Eventually, Waronker’s electric guitar, Rachel Haden’s bass and Tony Maxwell’s drums all kick in, but they’re also driving slowly past the punk rock show, like they’re trying to figure out whether to stop the car and get out and talk to you, and by now, it should go without saying that as Waronker is singing the second verse — while driving slowly — she’s being vocally supported by the Haden sisters.
Trying (Trying)
To be strong for you and myself
I was dying
To get a piece of this
Which leads to the gorgeous, incandescent second half of “hawthorne,” where just like “never say never” they’re gonna focus on sticking with that chorus world without end, amen.
And I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you as a child
Isn’t it wild?
I saw you
And now the guitars are fuzzing and ringing, and so it’s time to show off, first with a glorious all-hands-on-deck “ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” over crunchy power chords, followed by a melody-following guitar solo where both Waronker and Petra Haden are also singing “la-la-la la-la-la-la-la” along with the guitar solo, leading back into one last extended chorus.
And I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you as a child
Isn’t it wild?
I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you
What I love about “hawthorne” is that it has that jumbled quality of a half-remembered memory or a full-blown dream. For example, did she see you as a child at your parents house, or as a vision at the punk rock show in a car garage. And what exactly is a “car garage?” Is it a parking garage or you know, someone’s huge garage in Hawthorne where they were putting on a show? And if so, was it at your parent’s house, and she snuck in and saw the picture? Or at some other point, did your parents show her the picture. Unclear. And all the more better for it, I think.
In the outro, they follow the last “and I saw you” with one last great vocal arrangement where Waronker chants “a dream come true” as the Haden sisters counter with “and I saw” and “My dream come true” until Waronker finishes with one last “My dream come true.” So, maybe her desperate gamble paid off this time. Maybe.
Just stunning from start to finish.
However, as I said before, retreat from the sun didn’t sell shit, and that dog. broke up before the year was over. Which wasn’t surprising, as it was originally intended to be Waronker’s first solo album anyways. Instead, that album came out in 2002, and featured the pretty great “A Hollow Daze“, followed by her second solo album, California Fade, in 2011.
But the greatest thing any solo member of that dog. did after they broke up was by Petra Haden, who, in 2005 issued Petra Haden Sings The Who Sell Out, which is exactly what the title says it is: Petra Haden recreating The Who Sell Out totally a capella. Fantastic.
that dog. eventually reunited in the 2010s, doing some reunion shows, and issuing their fourth album, Old LP, in 2019. It wasn’t quite as great a retreat from the sun, but definitely a worthwhile addition to their canon.
“Hawthorne”
“hawthorne” Live at the Bottom of the Hill, 1997
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