Hawk [CD]

I've got an advance copy of this album and have given it it 2 or 3 listenings so far.

My first impressions are that it isn't as strong as the previous albums overall, however it's still a lot better than most music out there and there are some great moments in there.

Trying to work out why I wasn't quite so impressed with this album I relistened to my personal favourite 'Ballad of the Broken Seas'. What I love about that album is the use of the two artist personalities Mark's growling apocolpytic cowboy and Isobel's lilting folk temptress are at their best when they have a dialogue together. Songs like 'The False Husband' where he asks and she answers, or the super sexy 'Ramblin' Man' with their overlayed vocal tracks are simply amazing. Sometimes they would trade off individual tracks so Mark gets the tital track and Isobel get's 'Saturday's Gone' and the rest of the time they come together in sweet harmony.

Well... 'Hawk' relies much more on this last type of song, essentially Mark leading and Isobel providing little more than backing vocals. Their collaberation began as her idea and her style guided much of the earlier work, but on this third record it feels like Mark is driving, much more of his sound and less of hers - though in certain songs that perfect balance is still there, most clearly in the haunting opening track 'We Die and See Beauty Reign'(which unfortunatly got me really excited and left me a bit disappointed with what followed). 'Come Undone' is also very good, but reminded me of the superior earlier song 'Come on Over (Turn me on)'.

Isobel does get two solo tracks again 'Sunrise' and 'To Hell and Back again', but they are placed back to back and so don't punctuate the album as well as before.

One last point - the previous albums managed to be playful but unified, or rather whilst being varied the songs had a coherent sense of time and place (the same place PJ Harvey was singing 'To Bring you my Love' from I think). 'Hawk' is mostly coming from the same locale, but one or two elements seem quite jarring here - there is a Celtic element to the music of 'Eyes of Green' that seems out of place here (not a bad song, just out of place) and I've never really liked gospel choral elements; they rarely work and often sound like cheap shorthand for 'this song is uplifting a-don't-you-know' so I was disappointed to hear it in the album closer here 'Lately'. By far their weakest album closer yet compared with the moody evokative 'The Circus is Leaving Town' or 'Sally don't you cry'.

So in conclusion - certainly worth checking out and personal taste, as ever, will play a big factor, but I've tried to offer a few reasoned and reasonably objective comments (or at least note when something is just a matter of taste - like not liking gospel choir). However, writing this (and listening to Lanegan's solo 'Bubblegum' album as I did so) I can't help that think that 'Hawk' is a bit of a disappointment - 3.5 stars if I could, but as I can't 4 because compared with most music it's still very good.

When Campbell and Lanegan released their 2008 ep, Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart, made up of leftovers from earlier albums I was a little worried that this was the last we would hear from the duo. But my fears have been allayed, and here they are again with another cracking album.

When they first appeared together in 2006, with the sublime Ballad Of The Broken Seas, we were all awestruck at how the incredibly unlikely combination of Lanegan's gruff growl and Campbell's sweet lyrical phrasings mix to give a sound of amazing depth and feeling. On this, their third full length album, the surprise at how well the combination works has worn off a little, we are now in awe of the sheer consistency of their work together, and how every album reaches such heights.

Once again the mood is reflective, with tales of love and regret that would fit in well for an evening alone with memories and a bottle of wine. The opening few tracks are slow, smoky pieces that just burn straight through to the soul. From about track six the tone becomes a little more varied, with the inclusion of a few nice up tempo tracks that evoke the same mood but stop the record becoming monotonous. A lot of work has gone into putting the tracks into the best listening order to make this a coherent album, and it shows.

A highly recommended album, one that will appeal to those who like meaningful and emotionally intense music which packs a real punch. If there is any justice then this album should win a few awards. Excellent work Isobel and Mark, I look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

Although the second album was okay this third is definetely a better all round record. There are no weak tracks & both vocalists are on top form. It was also an interesting twist to involve M. Ward on some tracks. They also performed well recently at the Barbican.