Erik and the She-Wolves
Melodrama Sweetheart
Erik Hokkanen &
the Hip Replacements
Alive in Austin
In a town brimming with able noisemakers, a select group of musicians’ musicians possesses razor-sharp ears and multistyle skills that send others back to the woodshed, like Austinite Erik Hokkanen, a composer and singer who’s equally fire-fingered on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. Since moving from Florida in the Eighties, this third generation Finn has gone from busking to leading bands, two of which help Hokkanen release his 11th and 12th albums. The She-Wolves are the celebrated Tosca String Quartet, here in the studio, while the Hip Replacements are Hokkanen’s electric band, captured during a weekly Flipnotics gig. Hokkanen weaves strands of jump blues, Bob Wills, twang, rockabilly, Django Reinhardt, and bluegrass into his sonorous signature sound, full of energy, deep melody, and humor. Both outfits sound terrific – Melodrama’s string arrangements particularly shine – but the overall MVP is Hokkanen’s compositional gifts, on display in all but four of 33 total tracks. And save for the not-quite-there vocals in Melodrama’s “Ruby’s the One” and “Help Me Shine Again,” clunkers are scarce. Then again, consummate artists aren’t immune from making bad commercial decisions. No surprise Hokkanen would want two complementary documents of his talents, but curiously the same five tunes show up twice. Hearing these songs realized by two groups demonstrates their flexibility, but Hokkanen & Co. would have been better off culling the crème from each platter to fashion an easy Best of 2005 release. Either way, both albums should land Hokkanen and his friends some well-deserved credit.
(Melodrama Sweetheart) 
(Alive in Austin)
This article appears in December 2 • 2005.