Hawksley Workman - official site
Ok, he's not really new, and I'm a day late, but does it really matter when we're talking about Ryan Corrigan?
Ryan, aka Hawksley Workman, has been on the Canadian and international music scene for almost a decade. He had some mainstream success in the early naughties with "Striptease" and "Jealous of your cigarette", but then faded back into the underground realm which I think he probably prefers. This is also great for his supporters because it means we get to see him in intimate venues which give us the full Hawksley experience. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform on Saturday evening, and I picked up his latest album "Between the Beautifuls" at the show. Both are wonderful experiences.
First the album. "Between the Beautifuls" is a fantastic continuation of Workman's last effort, "Treeful of Starling". The driving guitar rock that he eschewed on "Starling" is subtly joined with the more mellow ballads and cabaret pop that many of us have come to love. This album shows Hawksley stepping into his prime. There is no more wishy-washy "I'm a cabaret singer, no wait I'm a rockstar, no wait I'm weird", this is Hawksley saying "I'll be whatever the fuck I want to be and you can enjoy it". It is definitely an album to pick up.
The show on Saturday was an equal to the album in every way shape and form. He played a number of his older hits (sometimes done up completely differently from the album which is super cool). He was backed on stage by a baritone clarinet, a violinist, a great backup singer, and of course Mr. Lonely on piano. The first 3/4 of the show was great versions of the mellow stuff, including an opener played entirely on toy instruments (and if you haven't seen two grown men sitting behind a toy piano and drum kit, you haven't lived). The last 1/4 of the show they switched up the tempo, stuck Hawksley behind a proper drum kit, and let loose. It was great to hear them bash out "Addicted" as their encore, as it is a song I tend to relate to. Imogen Heap and Sarah Jane Morris also made great guest appearances on one song each, which added to the spectacle.
Hawksley has a stage presence all his own, and one thing that makes his performances and his albums special is that whenever you hear them, you think he's singing just for you. Go check him out, live and on disc, he is more than worth it.
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