Robotic Hawks corral a divine sign of creativity with ‘New, Better Things’
New Hampshire alt-rock trio return with a rippin’ new EP recorded by Benny Grotto and mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie out Thursday, July 24
Robotic Hawks celebrate with a live release-night performance on WaveRadio Boston
Listen to last year’s ‘All Business’ EP
Photo Credit: Drae' the UnDead
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HUDSON, N.H. [July 24, 2025] -- There’s a famous quote, usually attributed to Ernest Hemingway (until someone on the internet chimes in and says he did not actually say that), about the windfalls of writing drunk and editing sober. It intends to suggest that a writer – of a novel, of an article, of a song, of anything – should not let inhibitions get in the way of primal creativity, but only if they allow themselves space to clean the damn thing up after some mental and emotional clarity.
For Robotic Hawks, the New Hampshire alternative rock trio who unleash a new full-throttle, four-track EP titled New, Better Things on Thursday, July 24, ahead of a live appearance and performance later that night on WaveRadio just over the state line in Lowell, their “drunk” swell of creativity arrived last spring.
The band had just finished participating in the 2024 Rock and Roll Rumble, and fresh off the release of their All Business EP – whose lead single, “High Maintenance,” was spun as one of The Coolest Songs in the World by Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM – banged out a series of successful live gigs around southern New England. Momentum was on their side, and creativity was flowing.
“We stared at the blank page and kept throwing stuff around until we found our spark,” says vocalist and bassist Tyler Pollard. “We always write together in the same room. If one of us likes something, we stop to explore and develop. These three songs all popped out pretty quickly – but the refinement took several months.”
That aftermath helped bring these four songs to fruition, and the “refinement” Pollard references was another example of Robotic Hawks — Pollard joined, as usual, by Shawn Doherty on guitar and Brian Sturk on drums – stepping out of their comfort zone. The band recorded New, Better Things with Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts, a departure from the practice space self-recordings of prior work, which was then co-produced and mixed by longtime ally and associate Andrew King. The Hawks then took it to be mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie, the iconic producer, engineer, and mixer known for his work with Pixies, Radiohead, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Morphine, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and countless others.
The result is perhaps the most well-rounded and concise Robotic Hawks record to date, showcasing the band’s pub rock energy, garage-pop smarts, and power-pop urgency over three new original tracks, lead by first single “Heartbeat,” a bass-driven number that shines like glass and cuts with the same intensity, and a cover of Crowded House’s 1980s classic “Something So Strong.” New Better Things is teeming with anthemic choruses and sing-along verses, and continues to showcase a band growing more confident in its sonic swagger.
“This EP has all of the standard Robotic Hawks hallmarks, but with more attention to vibe and groove,” Pollard says. “ Our mission statement has always been ‘As long as it’s rock and roll, it’s us.’ We always just try to write interesting songs, but this feels more measured and well-paced to reveal the personality of each song. These songs just feel looser, but manage to come across as surefooted.”
Pollard says the lyrical themes of the EP swirl around “aging, contending with change and expectations, and whether or not to play nice with the people in your world,” adding: “These are songs to highlight self-control, self-assessment or self-protection.
And that comes across right off the jump. Riff-heavy opener “Andale’” captures that classic Robotic Hawks grit underneath a vibrant, adrenalized chorus, and Pollard penned the words after being censored during what was supposed to be an amicable meet-up amongst friends. “I won’t go into the details, but in a nutshell, I was villainized for a pretty innocuous opinion about a celebrity,” he admits. “It was lame and pretty silly. I’ll leave it at that.”
On the aforementioned “Heartbeat,” emerging as the record’s first single and spotlight track, a glossy new wave strut and Bowie-kissed bassline emerge under a ‘90s alt-rock chorus that could have topped the indie charts 30 years ago. The track is soaked in harmony layers and boasts a blistering guitar solo from Doherty, whose guitarwork constantly elevates the Hawks’ power-pop jams into heavenly rock and roll territory.
“‘Heartbeat’ is a character piece about a bitter, yet hopeful woman trying to define what makes her happy and her inability to be vulnerable when it matters most,” says Pollard. “So many people begin building walls that they can never tear down, but somehow pretend they’re healthy. There’s a fine line between self-protection and isolation. This song is about those people that are sincere in their search, but find it impossible to change their patterns for the better.”
The EP continues with “David Lee Roth,” an introspective and celestial rock and roll number about the titular subject matter, and how it must be both amazing and difficult to be David Lee Roth after all these years (Pollard’s celebrity comment referenced above was not about the Van Halen frontman, for the record). The song was inspired by a conversation Pollard had with his teenage sons, who did not know who the singer was. And that kinda blew his mind.
“Trust me, I’ve tried to make rock trivia a priority in my home, but to no avail,” Pollard says. “My kids have absorbed nothing. No matter how hard I've tried. It is what it is. I’ve also always been fascinated by Roth’s rise and fall from cultural icon to cartoonish vaudevillian tap-dancer. I mean, he lost his youth and power right before our very eyes. For my money, NOBODY achieved more in the front man role than Dave did. However, we’ve all watched his legacy be systematically tarnished by his struggle. The sad part is that all he had to do was sing the songs exactly like he did on the records and everything would have been fine.”
And in following a Robotic Hawks tradition, the EP ends with an inspired cover, this time taking Crowded House’s ‘80s standard “Something So Strong” out for a spin in the Robotic Hawks fevered alt-rock machine. The cover follows similar reimaginings by the band of classic tracks from Terence Trent D’Arby (“Wishing Well,” off last year’s All Business); Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers (“I’m Not Your Man,” from 2023’s Minnesota Fats EP); Agent Orange (“Fire In The Rain,” a 2022 b-side to “Gravity”); R.E.M. (“Superman,” another 2022 b-side), and others dating back to the pandemic era. Truth be told, it rips.
“‘Something So Strong’ follows our approach of finding great pop songs that have rock and roll opportunities hiding below the surface,” Pollard notes. “This is a great song and it was such a breath of fresh air when it came out. These were nice guys playing a nice song in the sunshine and smiling, but I think our version ends up being more leather jacket than snazzy blazer, if that makes any sense.”
What did make sense was linking up with Grotto and Kolderie for the reproduction of the EP. Grotto was sought out to nail down a specific drum sound for the band, one they have been chasing over the past six releases after self-recording, and a drummer himself, Grotto nailed it. Enlisting Kolderie was a pure bucket list item for the band.
“The first time I heard of Paul was as the producer/engineer of Big Dipper’s 1987 album Heavens,” Pollard admits. “Paul has had his hands in so many releases that have personally shaped me since then; Uncle Tupelo, Radiohead, Pixies, Lemonheads, fIREHOSE and Warren Zevon to name just a few. The idea of having Paul grab hold of our tracks and show us a different way of hearing our band was exciting! There were moments when we were passing mixes back and forth that kind of blew my mind. To think about so many of my heroes having had these same types of mix conversations with Paul was just so cool. He couldn’t have been easier to work with, he’s open-minded, creative, and full of great ideas. We are thrilled with how it all came out!”
The results are evident both on the recording, and in how these four new songs on New, Better Things will translate to the live stage. After all, the refinement period was a long and winding road delivering Robotic Hawks to this moment, leading to the streaming release on July 24, and the release party at WaveRadio Boston later that night, where they’ll perform the EP in full and other Hawks bangers.
“WaveRadio has always been so supportive,” Pollard says. “Everyone that spins for WaveRadio is there because of their sincere passion and interest in our music community. I could think of no better place to launch our new EP.”
For press inquiries, contact Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com and reach Robotic Hawks’ Tyler Pollard at richie.tyler.pollard@gmail.com.
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Robotic Hawks are:
Tyler Pollard: Vocals and bass
Shawn Doherty: Guitar
Brian Sturk: Drums
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‘New, Better Things’ EP artwork:
Artwork by David SanAngelo
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‘New, Better Things’ EP production credits:
All songs written and performed by Robotic Hawks
Lyrics by Tyler Pollard
Produced by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, MA
Vocals recorded and arranged with Andrew King at Squarewave
Mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie
‘Something So Strong’ written by Neil Finn and Mitchell Froom and performed by Crowded House
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Robotic Hawks short bio:
Robotic Hawks formed in 2018 out of the New Hampshire town of Hudson with a simple mission: To play sweaty pub rock wrapped in pop hooks and delivered through high-energy performances. Singer and bassist Tyler Pollard found drummer Brian Sturk and guitarist Shawn Doherty on Craigslist and the three quickly bonded over Graham Parker, Rick Springfield and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. A longtime player in the New England music scene, Pollard moved to Boston in 1994 and has served as bassist and/or singer for the doosies, the control group (Rumble Class of 1999), Bradshaw, The Jack McCoys, The Beau Roland Band, Deadly Sins and Silent Service. But it’s with this band where he’s truly found his voice. The hard-hitting power-pop trio released their debut album Rock ‘N Roll Relapse in 2020. The band quickly and consistently has released new music ever since, from a string of singles paired with inspired covers to recent EPs in 2023’s Minnesota Fats and last year’s All Business, which saw lead single “High Maintenance” earn a spin as the Coolest Song in the World by Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM. Robotic Hawks have garnered local and national blog praise, global radio play, and received a 2023 New England Music Award for “Rising Star: New Hampshire” before performing at the 2024 Rock and Roll Rumble in Cambridge. Summer 2025’s New, Better Things EP continues the trio’s upward trajectory.
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Media praise for Robotic Hawks:
“[F]iery alt-rock…” _The Bad Copy
“Perfect, poetic, powerful.” _The Whole Kameese
“High-energy opener ‘High Maintenance’ is my favorite on the EP. It has an alt-rock energy but still kind of a classic rock vibe. There’s a guitar sound in the song that reminds me a little of Green Day, but the track has more of a garage rock – catchy, hooky, in-tune garage rock, mind you – overall feel.” _Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog
“New Hampshire power-pop aficionados Robotic Hawks are All Business with their new, four-song EP.” _That’s Good Enough For Me
“New Hampshire pop-rock trio, Robotic Hawks, have released their brand-new EP, All Business. The adrenaline-packed EP kicks off with the fiery alternative rock anthem “High Maintenance”, delivering a warning to buckle up for a frenzied 12-minute ride. The new EP features a dynamic blend of original tracks and inspired covers.” _Pure M Magazine
“Four tracks, four sucker-punches, four uppercuts, mixing rock, punk, pop and all things dynamite. ‘High Maintenance‘ and ‘Further‘ and ‘Cab Ride’ are three Herculean haymakers. Riffs fly around while the tandem turbo of drum and bass take care of the blistering beats relentlessly. All cylinders and all burners on. No brakes, no breaks, always steaming fast-forward sonically and vocally. Noise legends Hüsker Dü are listening just around the corner…. All in all, we get 12 minutes of kick-ass Hawks havoc to test the resilience of our stereo.” _Turn Up The Volume
“Minnesota Fats is fast paced alt-rock that is ridiculously catchy. The title track is the kind of song that is instantly familiar and sounds like The Replacements formed in the mid 90's, recruited Robert Pollard, and decided to inject a little metal into their sound. ‘Turn Away’ is going to draw even more Guided By Voices comparisons, and kind of goes into a little bit of a Southern California in the 60's sound. The EP closes out with a cover of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' ‘I'm Not Your Man.’ It's a modern power pop cover of a classic from 1988. Robotic Hawks are masters of an infectious blend of alt-rock that is an absolute blast.” _If It’s Too Loud
“Crisp, concise and filled with a lust for life, the newest release from New Hampshire’s Robotic Hawks is a fun-filled sonic journey that debuts some new originals along with a cover of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers’ classic ‘I’m Not Your Man’ so strap in!” _Rock And Roll Fables
“There is this raw electrifying energy with Robotic Hawks that you can’t ignore , they play a brand of infectious and fun Rock and Roll that we can’t get enough.” _The Whole Kameese
“Rock out with your hawk out… Just short of four minutes, the energetic Gin Blossoms-meets-Fastball number [‘Ansonia’] features wire-tight poppy harmonies and guitar wails that take you on a journey – almost akin to trying to become ‘the one’ after a long stint in the friend zone, like the song aptly discusses.” _The Music Bugle
“[‘Security’] has a great 70’s vibe like a punky Elvis Costello feel even though it’s an Otis Redding cover. More contemporary tones are there as well, I liken it a little to Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes but this has a good original vibe to it. It’s hard to believe the band is a trio because the track sounds so full and complete. … The Elvis Costello thing is still there with a very bluesy lead shredding on top of it all.”_Blood Makes Noise
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Media Contact: Michael O’Connor Marotta at michael@knyvet.com
Band Contact: Tyler Pollard at richie.tyler.pollard@gmail.com
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