Hanni El Khatib ‘Head In The Dirt’

Words by Brielle Cotelo

Hanni El Khatib hits us with some original tracks inspired by 50s/60s rock, garage punk and blues all in his sophomore album, Head in the Dirt. Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, the collaboration resulted in what Hanni himself refers to as a collection of ‘knife fight music’.

However, you won’t need any scars to rock out to songs from Head in the Dirt, released April 30th via Innovative Leisure. The LA-based singer/songwriter follows up his 2011 debut Will The Guns Come Out with another patch on his jacket and a new batch of growling guitar riffs, like the ones heard in stand-out tracks like ‘Family’ and ‘Nobody Move’. Chasing the outlaw spirit, the refreshing sounds of ‘Can’t Win ‘Em All’ and ‘Low’ offer an honesty that’s rarely heard in the rock scene today – both offer a variety of melodies to satisfy anyone’s rock n roll cravings.

With Head in the Dirt, his raw rock sound is still finding its way to our ears, and there are certainly no complaints. Go see Hanni live – he is currently on a spring tour with The Black Angels that will close out on May 21st in his hometown of Los Angeles.