Mallory Hawk strikes rock gold when she digs at her hometown roots. Chinook, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s debut album, takes its title from the music of her old backyard: the overhead chuffing of helicopters. Hawk grew up in Fayetteville, NC, a quintessential military town; her dad’s ear was so trained to the sounds of aircrafts, he’d call out their names without looking up. “It’s the only helicopter in the world that can collide with itself,” he once noted to her after hearing a Chinook CH-47 pass, as the machine’s unique double-propeller construction can cause it to literally rip apart. In its workhorse strength, life-saving purpose, and self-destructive potential, Hawk saw a perfect analogy for herself: an unflagging caretaker, often to the detriment of her wellbeing. “Even when I was down to the last bit of fuel in my reserve tank, I’d still give away every last drop to nurture and care for others. Routinely channeling my anger into song made me realize that my self-sacrifice had to stop,” she remembers. The songs on Chinook are sparkling facets of her insight into place, personhood and obligation, unflinchingly presented with the power and versatility of someone who could tear herself in two with all that lifting, but instead uses art as her rescue.

To produce Chinook, Hawk tapped like-mindedly omnivorous musician Sam Acchione (Alex G, Jessica Lea Mayfield), whom she’d befriended during her tenure in Customer. The two often spent hours trading liner notes minutiae, resulting in a collaboration that weaves songwriting idiosyncrasies with two lifetimes of radio scholarship. Hawk joined Acchione in Philadelphia to track at storied Headroom Studios (Hop Along, Algernon Cadwallader). There, she contributed tons of layers to Chinook—bass, drum machine, organ, rhythm and lead guitars—while Acchione encouraged unexpected overdubs like flugelhorn and djembe. Across the album, Hawk’s melodies weather unexpected journeys through tempo and tone, presenting the flavors of rage and tenderness she’s sampled in her roles as a friend, neighbor, family member, and creator. The intimate songs that began as home-recorded sessions opened up into full-band bounty, supported and enhanced by Hawk’s years as a steward of her scene. As a result, Chinook is strange yet classic—a soaring, solid and singularly envisioned vehicle of self-preservation.