Canadian musical wunderkind Hawksley Workman has long been heralded by critics at home and abroad as the "next big thing." His latest offering, "Lover/Fighter," is an ambitious attempt to balance Workman's indie sensibilities with his obvious desire to become a Bono-like rock icon. Strangely, this record even sounds like U2 at times, particularly on the opener "We Will Still Need a Song." The production here is slick and occasionally wavers into cheese territory, which works on some songs better than others. As suggested by its' title, the album explores themes of dichotomy and the duality of human nature, and for the most part, Workman's new romanticism is compelling and even moving, especially on the lovely closing track "Autumn's Here." Unfortunately, there are moments that don't work quite as well. "No Reason To Cry Out Your Eyes" is unremarkable, and although there are those who will disagree, I believe that Graph Nobel's guest appearance on the otherwise excellent "Smoke Baby" could go down as one of the most ill-advised rap cameos in pop history. That said, an uneven Hawksley Workman record is still better than most of what's out there, and the great moments on "Lover/Fighter" far outweigh the occasional hiccup. When it finally comes together completely for Hawksley, watch out, because his is a talent to be reckoned with.
-Dave Mix, Jan.07.04

Hawksley Workman