Release date: 20-07-2002

2002 limited vinyl edition -A Hawk and a Hacksaw is the eponymous debut album. It is an album recorded by Jeremy Barnes in Saumur, France, using a chicken, some geese, gongs, cats, a duck, spoons, pieces of tin and various melodic instruments. It s the result of sitting in the sun by the Loire reading Cervantes. Presented in colour sleeve.

Tracks:
01. Maremaillette
02. A Hack and a Handsaw
03. Romceasca
04. A Hard Row to Hoe
05. All Along the Tide 
06. Black Firs
07. Cotton Woods
08. At Dusk
09. Quand le son devient aigu, jeter la girafe à la mer
10. To Pine in Time
11. A Kerne
12. A Hawk and a Hacksaw
13. With Our Thoughts We Make the World

A Hawk and a Hacksaw (often abbreviated to AHAAH) is a folk band from Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is currently on The Leaf Label. The band consists primarily of percussionist Jeremy Barnes, who was previously the drummer for Neutral Milk Hotel, and violinist Heather Trost. The music is inspired by eastern European and particularly Balkan traditions, and is mostly instrumental with occasional vocals, shouts and cheers. The band has toured with The Olivia Tremor Control and Beirut. During its CMN tour of the UK in 2007 it was accompanied by the The Hun Hangár Ensemble.
Recalling Kurt Weill's orchestrations, Carl Stalling’s visionary cartoon soundtracks and Tom Waits’ more whimsical works, Mr Barnes creates a playfully gothic atmosphere with his multi-layered, frantic compositions. Mixing field recordings with accordion, piano and bursts of drunken choruses, he generates a singular and unnerving orchestral whole. A song’s direction can hinge on a dog’s bark or a phone ringing, while cacophony and sweet hymn-like harmonies cohabit in entertainingly unexpected passages.
"I want to make music that tells a story without words, but I would like the story and images to be left to the listener. I have my own, inside my head, but they are not supposed to be on display."