Named after and recorded on the street where he grew up, Carl Hauck’s fourth album, Windjammer, is in many ways a reconciliation with adolescence. Hauck penned the songs at college, where all too often he’d find himself sitting at a coffee-stained desk as term paper deadlines approached, unwittingly soaking up the muffled cries of late night drunks, the melodies of waking birds, and the distant crashes of early morning dustcarts. After years of performing the songs in raucous bars and foreign living rooms, it only felt right to record them back home. Yet he wasn’t there for long before he found himself buried in a different set of deadlines, one that he himself had created for his students as a beginning high school teacher. The challenge arose for Hauck to thoughtfully explore, through music, his anxieties surrounding ambition and failure, the selflessness of love, the exploitative nature of personal comfort, and the meaning of home – all while putting on a confident front about the same issues when they surfaced within the context of classroom literature. As this challenge became both more demanding and more engrossing, Windjammer transformed from a labor of love into a labor of necessity. The resulting sound is that of a man assembling a dream in place of sleep, an effort made more worthwhile by contributions from a talented ensemble of friends. There’s a genuine sense of beauty in that sound, an honest sparseness about it, adorned by richly-deserved moments of cathartic splendor. Whether it’s the triumphant horns in “Martial Riesling,” the wistful strings in the title track, or the delicate interplay of the electric guitar in “Rooster,” each and every note that rises beyond Hauck’s traditional acoustic fare is intended to complement the poignant lyricism for which he has become known. Hauck doesn’t claim that the songs on Windjammer are universal or even widely accessible; in fact, some of them are irrevocably personal. Yet there are still treasures within them for those who share a desire to go beyond the obligatory motions of everyday life, those more interested in anchoring down to create something than in sailing on with the current. WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT WINDJAMMER: "...a deeply personal work born out of coming home and coming to terms… written and composed beautifully, like, as the first song suggests, a fine Riesling, bursting with life in all its shades and hues." – Laughing Evergreens "Illinois-based Carl Hauck...writes melodic, intimate music that has wound itself into my heart. A sure sign that I really like a record is when I wake up singing something from it, and that's happened several times now with this album." – Lost in Your Inbox "If you pick up one 'folk' album today, make it Carl Hauck's Windjammer... The album is a study in delicate finger-picked singer-songwriter selections that carry some of the best melodies of 2010." – Slowcoustic "With the richness and eloquence of Windjammer…Hauck impresses with his artful lyricism and thoughtful composition... While he never strays far from his pensive, patient approach, Hauck's honest songwriting and attention to detail bring his music from simple folk into something intensely personal, both soothing and heart-wrenching." – Smile Politely "…oozing with Midwestern charm and innocence... The soothing tunes effortlessly transition into one another, and before you know it you're starting the entire album all over again, happily searching for more of the lovely subtleties hidden in the songs." – The Wild Honey Pie "Listening to Windjammer...is an amazingly intimate experience. Sometimes sounding a bit sorrowful, sometimes hopeful, Carl gives us a close-up look inside his mind with performances that aren't allowed to hide behind heavy instrumentation or overwrought production. It makes his talent crystal clear." – Windy City Rock PRAISE FOR 2008’s COUNTER INTELLIGENCE: "Not only is Carl Hauck a guitarist and songwriter, he is also a poet... Counter Intelligence is an exciting step forward... Hauck's voice itself is stronger, freer, and more emotional, bringing the songs to life. Listening to the violin on 'Selfish Duet' is – like the entire album – a painkiller for the soul. If Hauck isn't up-and-coming, he'll be sorely overlooked." - Innocent Words Magazine “To say that I have fallen in love with Carl Hauck’s music would be such a gross understatement that it would be an insult to the incredible depth of his lyrical genius. It boggles my mind that he has not been grabbed up by a label. Perhaps it is because he does not fall into the cookie-cutter mold of what is pop sensibility at the moment, which is one of his strongest qualities…” - The Vinyl Experience "Carl is quickly proving himself to be a very solid songwriter, particularly with the release this year of Counter Intelligence, his third CD since 2004. The album is littered with carefully picked instruments and sparse-but-solid guest vocals over mostly subdued songs that recall Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine." - Buzz Magazine "Carl Hauck is a folksy singer who sounds like Andrew Bird if Andrew Bird knew how to have emotions. All of Bird's work suffers from a disaffected whimsy... Thankfully, Carl Hauck takes the best parts of Bird's amalgam, adds some of his own, and slathers emotion on it..." - Independent Clauses "While all of Hauck's music has always held a certain quality of excellence, his newest musical endeavor shows a graceful gain of maturity which surely has come with the experience of the few years since his last release." - Sleeping Lessons "Truly invigorating music that will paint the most amazing pictures in your mind." - Reverse Magazine "For an excellent acoustic act, make sure to check out soloist Carl Hauck. With excellent songwriting, great pop-sensibilities, and soothing, but strong vocals, Hauck brings to the C-U scene the ideals of casual simplicity with serious ambition." - Daily Illini