Ha Ha Tonka
Heart-Shaped Mountain
(Bloodshot)
A mature folk-rock and highly harmonic version of Americana, it’s no surprise that Ha Ha Tonka’s origins are rooted in the Ozark Mountains, though I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if the members grew up on post-punk. Their self-proclaimed ‘love album’, the quintet waste zero time displaying their timeless, anthemic song craft, sounding reminiscent of Tom Petty if he were in Whiskeytown and on Merge Records in the ’90s, or quite possibly the most splendid version of country, indie-rock and rugged, dusty flavors you’re likely to hear this year. The first truly exceptional album of 2017.
