One of Abilene’s latest local bands, Hungry, Mother, releases their first EP this week. Rather than burning its music onto blank CDs, the band decided to have its album pressed into vinyl.
Hardin Simmons student Walker Lyle is the founding member of Hungry, Mother and said it was a collaborative decision to put the EP on vinyl.
“We wanted to demonstrate that we are serious as a band and at the same time give people a quality product,” Lyle said. “It is also our way of shooting for the stars.”
In addition to the vinyl record, the EP can be purchased digitally on the band’s Bandcamp site. They are also making sure to include access to digital downloads with each album purchase.
After working on the EP for a year, Lyle says that it has been a long and evolving process.
“Our sound has changed so much from when we started,” Lyle said. “We’ve added members, and they each have very different styles.”
These different styles, such as blues, folk and funk combine to create an album in which each song sounds a little different.
Hungry, Mother initially began as an acoustic duo consisting of Lyle and guitarist Luke Powell. Over the past year they have grown to include Ben Fike, Brett Ellis and Lori Sims.
“Abilene is such great place to meet musicians,” Lyle said. “People jam with each other and sometimes just fit into bands naturally.”
Jon Howell, co-owner of The Record Guys, said he is excited to be selling local artists’ music and looks forward to selling Hungry, Mother’s album in the shop.
“This will be the first local group we have on vinyl,” Howell said. “It’s something we’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always told people that if they cut it, we’ll sell it. We have already had a lot of people from ACU coming in just to get this album.”
Lyle said he feels flattered by the support he has received from the community. He said it eases the initial gamble of releasing a record.
“This is the hardest part,” Lyle said. “This first push is such a big risk but I’m excited to see what happens.”
The album contains five songs and bonus track of rain sounds. It can be bought at The Record Guys, King Music, Hippy Kritz Music and Monks Coffee Shop for $12.
