Jack J Hutchinson - The Hammer Falls (2022)

Okay, I’ve had ‘The Hammer Falls‘ spinning for a couple of months, and those people who pledged as part of the album’s Kickstarter campaign have just received their copies ahead of the Official release in a month’s time. So it’s a slap on the wrist for me for not getting this here review online before now.

Jack J. Hutchinson is one of those musicians whose feet are planted in various musical camps, something I know irritates certain blues purists no end, which amuses me somewhat, as there are no actual musical laws restraining an artist’s creativity! ‘The Hammer Falls‘ takes Jack’s heavier leanings and leans on them quite a bit more, the impact of thundering drums & bass from messrs Laz and Felipe underpinning a forceful and yet highly musical guitar sound.

I’ve tended to prefer the dirtier end of blues rock, so ‘The Hammer Falls‘ combining that and some excellent hard rock influences means that this album isn’t just my cup of tea, it’s the whole tea set & kettle to boot!

As someone whose been following Jack & Co’s progress, having seen them a few times the last few years, to me it’s obvious that Jack’s very much plugged into what’s wanted by today’s audience and is having a mighty fine time of it too. ‘The Hammer Falls‘ demands to be listened too, and at an elevated volume of course. It’s catchy in all the right places, avoids too many cliches, which is a tad tricky in itself, and crucially it makes you want to hit play again the moment the album finishes.

Standout tracks for me personally would be ‘Halo‘, ‘Down By The River‘ and the album opener ‘Straight To Hell‘, but as far as I’m concerned, there are no ‘fillers’, no track I wanted to skip.

It will be interesting to see the reaction to ‘The Hammer Falls‘, one thing I do know is these tracks will tear your lugholes out when heard live on Jack’s 2022 Tour, which kicks off on February 3rd at the O2 Islington.

Is it too early to add ‘The Hammer Falls‘ to my favorite releases of 2022 list already? I think not! ~Dan Mann