Hawksley Workman really likes his whiskey.
It’s mentioned in three different songs on his latest disc, Lover/Fighter, including the track “Even an Ugly Man”, which begins with “What Jesus can’t fix tonight/The whiskey certainly might.”
“I would say (whiskey) was probably a pretty major influence,” admits Workman, taking a break from shooting a video for second single “We Will Still Need A Song” to chat with the Varsity.
The triple-threat singer/songwriter/producer from Huntsville, Ontario has been steadily gaining popularity since his 1999 debut, For Him and the Girls. He spent a year in Europe, pretty soon finding himself regularly playing to crowds of over 10,000 and garnering a strong following in France. Back on Canadian soil, he won a Juno for Best New Solo Artist in 2002 and has also produced albums for local piano diva Sarah Slean and eccentric folkie twins Tegan and Sara.
The liqueur references may not be surprising when one considers that in recording Lover/Fighter, Workman locked himself up in a 100-year old, one-room schoolhouse in northern Ontario for eight months.
“I went crazy a couple times,” Workman says, “And I ditched back to the city to get sushi and stuff. I felt completely useless socially, because all I’d been doing was chopping wood and keeping warm, and that’s all I was talking about.”
The result of his sojourn into solitude was the nine tracks on Lover/Fighter, Workman’s third album and the most focused one yet. While his previous efforts, like 2001’s (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves, were an eclectic blend of camp and cabaret, Lover/Fighter was an exercise in planning and precision.
“One of my major goals was to focus,” Workman says. “I’ve made other records that are a little crazy, a little bit off the wall or esoteric. I’ve always wanted to make a focused record, but I just never took the time.
“Maybe it’s because I’m 27 now, and not 21, and feel like I have the time to be patient… This time, I took eight months and I did everything that I wanted to do. When I listen to this record, there’s not one moment that goes by that I think, ‘Ah, shit- I really should’ve done that (instead).'”
At first listen, Lover/Fighter sounds a lot like the old Hawksley Workman. From the sultry come-on of “Smoke Baby” to world-weary waltz “The Future Language of Slaves”, Workman’s voice is still the centerpiece of the songs. At times he takes on an almost Bono-esque grandeur, as on the falsettoed first single “Anger as Beauty”, while on tracks like “Wonderful and Sad”, he tones it down to a plaintive wail befitting Tom Waits or even Bob Dylan.
“I guess I have a bit of a fondness for melody and rhythm,” Workman explains. “I keep that musical, harmonic element alive while I say all sorts of nasty dirty things underneath.”
The sing-able quality of Lover/Fighter makes the record Workman’s most pop-like venture thus far, but that doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and bubblegum. His signature teasing, raunchy lyrics honed on Wolves singles “Striptease” and “Jealous of Your Cigarette” are just as much a part of the new disc.
“I’ve always thought my music is dark,” he offers. “When you first listen to it, it doesn’t sound dark at all. Then once you take the lyrics into consideration, the darkness starts coming out of them.”
The combination of upbeat melodies with moody, suggestive lyrics is all part of the theme that Workman tried to convey throughout the album. As its title suggests, Lover/Fighter is about ambivalence and the two sides to every story.
“All of my records have been a conflict of sides. I feel like that’s part of my character,” says Workman. “Whether it’s because I’m a Pisces… I’m (like) a fish that’s chasing its own tail. I’m quite naturally conflicted and torn… always in two different directions.”
Workman’s conscious effort to steer the album in a specific direction is apparent in his unique (and in true Hawk fashion, rather amusing) songwriting process: “I always write the titles of the songs first,” he says. “When I was in Europe, I pretty well wrote about 20 titles, and the album title, and all I had to do was go home and write the songs to go with the titles.”
Currently, Workman is touring across Canada, which brings him to the Phoenix Concert Theatre this Wednesday and Thursday. The second show was added after the first one sold out quickly. With “Anger as Beauty” getting plenty of airplay and a packed promotional schedule, Workman seems to finally be on the verge of full-fledged stardom here at home.
“It’s been crazy, non-stop everything,” he says. “It’s funny-after you make a record you spend a good long time doing non-musical things. So the tour will be great, to get back out and start playing again.”
