There is something magical about how music can evoke an ephemeral moment in time, the whisper of a breeze, the dancing glint of sunlight on water, or, in this case, the flutter of a dragonfly’s wings. That very essence has been bottled, indeed, as guitarist/ songwriter Charles W. Hammell, Jr., better known to friends and fans as Chuck Hammell, perfectly captures the wonder and innocence of a carefree summer day on his brand-new single, “Dragonfly.”
The idea came to him quietly and naturally. Hammell remembers sitting by a pond and a meadow, watching dragonflies dart and whirl with agitation. Their course of flight, wild and beautiful, was the trigger. With his newly refurbished studio and a fresh set of strings on his Stratocaster in hand, he sought to translate that change into sound. The result is “Dragonfly,” a song that feels both spontaneous and purposeful, as if you’re the one chasing the insect, darting through air and light.
The guitar shines, sputtering with a clarity that feels like a spark of Hammell’s lifelong love affair with the instrument. The tones themselves contain the reverberations of his formative role models, the electric thrust of Hendrix, the dynamic stackings of Jimmy Page, the melodic narrative of the Beatles and Stones. But it’s unmistakably his own.“Dragonfly” heroes both of these character types in the embodiment of two cold, cynical, world-weary teenagers. There’s a playfulness in the riffs, a freedom in phrasing, and that sense of discovery that makes this one an instant standout.
The precision with which Hammell toggles the technical against the instinctual is what makes his approach notable. One can sense the joy of discovery, the excitement of plugging in, turning up the amp, and letting the guitar sing unfettered. It’s more than a song, it’s a conversation between artist and muse, a dragonfly acting as a most unlikely but utterly perfect collaborator.