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... THE DELICIOUS WOLVES
Hawksley Workman
(Isadora Records)
There is definitely something akin to a "buzz" about Mr. Workman, one that's well deserved.
Like Shania Twain, he has the rare ability to make members of the opposite sex nervous by just being in the same room.
And, let's face it, he's pretty damned good at his job.
What Workman does is take conventional sounds, especially uncool ones, and, with passion and a wide vocal range, sing about sex. He respects rock 'n' roll, especially in the opener Striptease, which I'll put in as the best Canadian song of the year so far, save for five seconds of fuzzy guitar in the middle. Like the Danielson Family, Workman works on a weird plain full of surprises. You're reminded of Billy Joel one second, KISS the next, then the Kinks, then country Beck.
All in a way that seems pretty darn unique.
So. Why only 31/2 SUNS out of five?
The album starts out like a punching machine and the first three songs are absolutely fantastic. If this would have been an EP of six of the best tunes on the album, full marks for sure.
But The Delicious Wolves fades a bit in the middle and never really comes back all the way. For Him and the Girls, his first big effort, is a modern classic, not a boring track on it. As a whole, Wolves lacks just enough bite to bring it back to this same sacred place.
Still, a clever, well-written, well-sung, self-produced, one-man band that sings about sex in almost every song is worth some more high praise especially, as I said, because of the first few songs.
Jealous of Your Cigarette starts out with a great bit of piano, then moves into Queen-style rock before settling into a more college feel. And You Me and the Weather is a fine, sad love song, again with the love talk, a theme this week.
Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds once told me the point of music is to want to make people have sex, and I guess Workman deserves credit for that here. Thanks, man.
Every time he gets creative he's brilliant. He just held back a little, it seems. Probably thinking about something more important in that sharp mind of his.
However, add an extra star if you're a woman, because your language is no mystery to him, and we need more of that.
Track Listing
1. Striptease
2. Jealous of Your Cigarette
3. No Beginning, No End
4. Little Tragedies
5. What a Woman
6. Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off
7. Old Bloody Orange
8. Clever Not Beautiful
9. You, Me & the Weather
10. Dirty & True
11. Lethal & Young