With it's self-titled debut, a Hawk & a Hacksaw provides a new musical outlet for nomad and former Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes, who has paired with violin player Heather Trost for a set that balances a modernist experimental sensibility with a playful vintage vibe. Recorded in both the Elephant 6 home base of Athens, Georgia, and in France, the album clearly is inspired more by the latter locale, with old-world European flourishes gilding many songs, most notably the lively, accordion-led 'Romceasca' and 'A Hard Row to Hoe,' both of which could have fit nicely on Yann Tiersen's lauded Amelie soundtrack.