News

The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer release single ‘Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To’!



For fans of... The Black Keys, Jack White, Danger Mouse

"...like The White Stripes having a bar brawl with B.B. King." - Cougar Microbes


“...a real blues kitchen with all sorts of ingredients in the pan.”
- Pop Matters


Canadian duo The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer have released their latest single Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To out now via Tonic Records and available to buy on iTunes.

The video for Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To premiered on The Blues Magazine and it is also available to watch via the band’s YouTube channel now.


The duo combines the classic blues rock sound of Willie Dixon but with a modern edge akin to Jack White and The Black Keys. Together, the pair have created a their own take on the genre, smothered in greasy, gritty soul and imbued with and injection of funk.

The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer are Shawn Hall (lead vocals, harmonica) and Matthew Rogers (guitar, drums, backing vocals). The two met and bonded over music whilst at a recording session for a radio jingle and named their new project after the blues harp reference lyric “I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana” from Kris Kristofferson’s Bobby Mcgee and the term “axe” as a common reference to a guitar. Since then, the guys have gone from strength to strength with the release of their debut album The Blues Can Kill in 2007, the widely acclaimed Checkered Past in 2011 and most recently, A Real Fine Mess in 2014.

The two-piece have already received praise from the likes of Exclaim!, Pop Matters and The Blues Magazine amongst others. They have also been nominated for Blues Album of the Year at the Junos in 2014, for multiple Maple Blues Awards and won Blues Act of the Year at the SiriusXM Indies in 2013. With an already impressive list of live shows behind them, including performances at Montreal Jazz Fest and sharing the stage with Taj Mahal, Booker T Jones, David Wilcox and Mother Mother, the band have recently completed their first ever European tour including dates supporting the fantastic Dr.Dog.

The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer’s latest single Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To is out now via Tonic Records and available to buy on iTunes.

If you'd like more information on The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer or our PR services, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com.
Posted Fri, 06 May 2016 in The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer