Freak Scene #23: Hannah Mohan Starts Fresh on 'Time Is a Walnut'
A Guide to Music in Western Mass. (and sometimes Connecticut)
This week in Freak Scene, Hannah Mohan embarks on a solo career with Time Is a Walnut, and I have some thoughts on the rejuvenated Iron Horse now that I’ve made it to a show there.
It’s a fact that Hannah Mohan has never been dull, but the ex-singer of And the Kids has generally been circumspect about just how interesting her life so far has been. Mohan was in her early 20s when she started And the Kids with a friend from middle school and another woman they met through the Institute for the Musical Arts. (Side note: there’s just no overstating the IMA’s impact on young women making music around here.) Before that, though, Mohan had left home at 16 to spend five years as a “traveler kid,” hopping freight trains and busking like some latter-day Wobbly on the move.
Though it’s not an experience she has talked much about in the past, life on the road had a clear impact on her development as a musician. It’s where Mohan learned to really sing and project her voice: getting people’s attention (and spare change) could mean the difference between eating and not. In other ways, though, Mohan’s itinerant young adulthood doesn’t directly inform her music. It’s more like background scenery on Time Is a Walnut, the Northampton native’s first solo album. (Full disclosure: I wrote the PR bio for the album.)
The more immediate influence on these 12 songs is the end of long-term relationship and the breakup of And the Kids, both of which took place between the summer of 2019 and the onset of the pandemic. Despite that backdrop, Time Is a Walnut is big and bold, with catchy songs constructed around Mohan’s bright voice and off-kilter lyricism as she addresses altered consciousness over a springy bassline and jittery piano on “Heaven and Drugs,” arousal on the woozy “Soaked” and self-discovery throughout. There’s anger, too, on “Peace Be the Day,” but the mood is more often expansive and exploratory as Mohan makes sense of new circumstances. She lays it all out on “Therapist,” her voice soaring over fuzzed-out electric guitar and upbeat blasts of brass. “Runaway” has a hazier vibe as Mohan sings in dream-like tones, accompanied by bass and drifting synths. (There’s also a guest spot from Lady Lamb on “Hell.”)
There are, naturally, echoes of the And the Kids here, but working with producer Alex Toth of Rubblebucket helped Mohan focus on her own distinctive musical identity. After nearly a decade as part of a band, Time Is a Walnut represents a new beginning for Mohan — one that can be as limitless as she wants it to be.
Thoughts on the Revamped Iron Horse
In some ways, returning to the Iron Horse Music Hall this week felt like going home. Thanks to a generous neighbor with an extra ticket, I was there to see Hurray for the Riff Raff on Sunday — somehow the first time I’d ever caught that band live. They were excellent, and the revived Iron Horse looks great.
Turning the adjacent storefront into a new entrance, with a bar, makes a huge difference. That’s also where the bathrooms are now, rather than having to work your way gingerly down the steep stairs into the grotty basement and wait in line for one of the two single-seaters.
There are plenty of people who have a longer history with the place, but I was there a lot in the aughts, starting with John Hiatt on Oct. 16, 2000 (Mark Erelli opened). Feels like I saw everybody play: Andrew Bird, the Mountain Goats, the Magnetic Fields, NRBQ, Bettye LaVette, Gary Louris (with and without Mark Olson), Fountains of Wayne, Norah Jones’ Little Willies project, Justin Townes Earle, Beck when he opened a tour there in 2003, Sharon Van Etten when she opened a tour there in 2014, Winterpills, Alvvays. I’m not sure I ever missed a Jesse Malin show at the Iron Horse.
Just as much as the bands, though, was the sense of community. Before long, I’d inevitably know other folks in the audience. Often they were friends I’d mostly see at concerts. I didn’t know very many people on Sunday (hi, Philip!), but then, with little kids suddenly keeping me occupied, I hadn’t been back to the Horse since Diet Cig in 2017. The music landscape in the Valley has changed considerably since then, and there are a ton of great places now to see shows, and meet (and make) friends. Yet now that the Iron Horse is back open, with a full concert calendar, I’m hoping it won’t be long until I’m always running into people I know there, just like in the old days — but better.
Upcoming Concerts
Former Valley resident Joe Pernice plays a house concert in East Longmeadow July 18; there’s more information on his website.
According to roadside signs scattered around greater Northampton, there’s a heavy-music campout on the horizon. More specifically, it’s RPM Fest, happening Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at the Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club in Montague. Prong, Jasta, Misery Index and Bongzilla headline the 10th anniversary edition of the festival, along with sets by Deceased, Belushi Speed Ball, Castle Rat, Tower, Leather Lung, Thy Will Be Done, Mother Iron Horse, Persekutor, Rig Time! and more. There’s also a professional wrestling throwdown presented by the New York entertainment troupe Kaiju Big Battel. For the complete lineup and ticket information, check out RPM Fest’s website.
Sunset Rubdown plays Oct. 26 at the Iron Horse. Blues guitarist Coco Montoya is there Nov. 13. There’s more information here.
Wallace Field plays a free show July 24 at the Marigold in Easthampton with the Pinkerton Raid and Adelaide Fay. Colombian cumbia group Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto perform Aug. 1. Ruby Lou plays with the Whip Appeal Aug. 10. There’s more info here.
Next week: The Demographic turn hidden bonus tracks into an EP.
Freak Scene is always open to submissions! You can send music for coverage consideration to erdanton at gmail or reply to this email. Check out these guidelines first. Previous issues of Freak Scene are available in the archive.