The Howling Hex

The Howling Hex serves as Neil Hagerty's vehicle for some of the singer/songwriter/guitarist's most wide-ranging sounds, a notable distinction given his role fueling Pussy Galore's anti-rock cacophony throughout the eighties and his later work blurring avant-noise with classic rock alongside Royal Trux during the nineties. Early Howling Hex recordings carried echoes of those prior outfits through their swampy experiments, yet Hagerty gradually incorporated more accessible yet still unexpected references to pop and rock on efforts such as the 2005 release All-Night Fox. Throughout the project's ongoing evolution, unpredictability stayed its defining trait, moving from the multimedia scope of 2005's You Can't Beat Tomorrow to the expansive jams of 2006's Nightclub Version of the Eternal within a single year and stretching the group's limits across the 2000s. In subsequent decades the Howling Hex sustained its musical restlessness, reimagining traditional Mexican music on 2013's The Best of the Howling Hex and 2016's Denver with the same inventive spirit Hagerty had previously applied to blues, country, folk, and rock, while even the comparatively direct 2020 album Knuckleball Express kept audiences on their toes.

Following the 2001 breakup of Royal Trux, Hagerty relocated from Virginia to New Mexico and issued three solo albums—2001's Neil Michael Hagerty, 2002's Plays That Good Old Rock & Roll, and 2003's Neil Michael Hagerty & the Howling Hex—before assembling a band in 2003. Adopting the project's name from that third solo record, the lineup centered on Hagerty plus an assortment of largely anonymous players and debuted later that year via Introducing the Howling Hex, a limited-edition vinyl-only outing whose rough textures recalled Royal Trux works such as Twin Infinitives and Hand of Glory. The 2004 releases The Return of the Third Tower and Section 2 likewise appeared as limited vinyl pressings of 500 copies each, though they allowed greater glimpses of Hagerty's pop inclinations amid the dense textures while introducing vocalist Lyn Madison. Early in 2005 the band's first CD-available album, All-Night Fox, surfaced on Drag City, followed that November by the CD-and-DVD package You Can't Beat Tomorrow. February 2006 brought 1-2-3, which compiled the project's initial EPs, while September's Nightclub Version of the Eternal spotlighted a reduced lineup and Hagerty's baritone guitar in place of bass.

For 2007's XI the Howling Hex shifted course entirely, with Hagerty convening guitarist/vocalist Mike Signs, saxophonist/flutist/vocalist Rob Lee, and percussionist/vocalists Andy McLeod and Phil Jenks. Earth Junk, a set of waltz-time pieces recorded in Austin that also accompanied a film of the same title, appeared in 2008. The sci-fi-inspired Rogue Moon arrived the next year on the U.K. label Golden Lab, marking the project's debut outside Drag City. Hagerty again altered the lineup and approach for 2011's Wilson Semiconductors, a four-song sprawl featuring his guitar, bass, and electronics work.

That same year Hagerty settled in Denver, drawing fresh ideas from the city's ties to traditional Mexican forms such as norteño and ranchera. On 2013's The Best of the Howling Hex he reinstated a full-band format and drew inspiration from Narciso Martínez and Los Tigres del Norte, later issuing the limited-edition singles Fool's Watch/Lord Gloves in 2014 and Butterfly/Party Shoes in 2015. The 2016 album Denver extended the "New Border Sound" introduced on the prior full-length. For several years afterward Hagerty concentrated on the Royal Trux reunion that began in 2015; the duo performed shows in Los Angeles and New York and released the 2017 live album Platinum Tips & Ice-Cream. Early in 2018 Royal Trux signed with Fat Possum Records, which issued White Stuff in March 2019. Hagerty resumed activity with the Howling Hex on Knuckleball Express, a collection of heavier, expansive tracks he captured over eight days. Featuring vocalist/guitarist Nicole Lawrence, the album appeared on Fat Possum in April 2020.