Turn this up, you've not heard anything like it before.
Hawksley Workman... the thing about this guy is he writes pretty catchy indie songs. But then he gets noise. And lots of it. He plays with it, he rips it, he twists it and he layers lots of different ones together. It's an absolute mess. And it's amazing.
Not only do you get the quirky vocal/melodic style of a young Weezer or maybe Wheatus to rock out to, you get squeaks and jingles, and percussion that crashes and bangs over the main vocal line, taking "Chocolate Mouth" to new levels. You get a haphazard scattering of electric guitar notes rumbling through the stillness of classic piano in a ballad to the pains of a "Baby Mosquito". You get a crunchy punky rock mess that will make you check if your speakers are still working properly ("And the Government Will Protect the Mighty"). A bird singing throughout a catchy indie disco track ("(We ain't no) Vampire Bats"). And did I mention the ballad to an annoying flying insect?
Lush, haphazard, machine-like instrumentation is the key with Canadian singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman. Controlled chaos and a full range of effects - a producer's triumph, but noise and technology tricks do not come at the expense of great song writing. Workman's melodies are rock solid and catchy and emotion comes through in bucket-loads. "Song For Sarah Jane" is all about atmosphere, with the stillness of piano and voice layered over the creaks and wooden clanks of an empty space - an emotive theatrical performance (reminds me of a more interesting David Gray). “The Happiest Day I Know” might just be the happiest track I know, and the skilfully crafted lyrics to “We’ll Make Time (Even When There Ain’t No Time)” reflect the reality of the challenges of a relationship and why they’re worth it; emotion builds with relentless repetitions of rhythmic vocals to an exultant guitar solo and crunching chords.
This album is designed to be played on full volume. Workman makes hectic traffic jams of energising, emotionally resonant sound. Organised cacophonies, that you can listen to over and over and each time the dense instrumentation has something new to offer to your curious ears. Play it again and play it LOUD.