Hawksley Workman
Treeful of Starling
(Isadora)
Hawksley Workman has crafted a wistful, humble and uncluttered album by stripping down his eccentric cabaret songwriting approach and dipping into his antique collection. This is a phonographic recording, laced with images of hope, honesty, sobriety and nostalgia for a way of life lived long ago. “When These Mountains Were the Seashore” combines a toe-tapping banjo with lyrics reminis- cent of a children’s book based on Noah’s Ark, while a towering saxophone solo closes the chilling ballad “Ice Age.” Workman has always worn his heart on his sleeve, yet the line “you are too beautiful to be in bed with me” is coated in the richest of syrups.
—Shannon Webb-Campbell
categories: Canadian artist
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.