Hawk
Album | Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
The growling bear and the cooing sprite.
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan clearly know a good thing when they hear it – each has plenty of impressive outings in both solo and band contexts to their credit, but the former Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age frontman and the onetime Belle and Sebastian singer/songwriter/keyboardist create something special together, and their third duo album attests to the peripatetic pair’s faith in that fact. On the surface, Hawk’s format is pretty similar to that of its predecessors: Lanegan plays the growling, baritone bear to Campbell’s softly cooing sprite, the latter handles the heavy lifting in the songwriting/arranging department, and the dominant vibe is melancholy folk-rock alternating with moody, orchestral pop of the Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra variety. But this time around, Campbell’s writing comes closer to the spirit of her influences--exemplified by a pair of Townes Van Zandt covers--while the rumbling, rocking moments find a more organic fit between the moody ballads, and one begins to believe that somewhere inside that sprite is a growling bear equal in ferocity to Lanegan’s. Inexplicable/unnecessary distraction: two guest vocal spots by troubadour Willy Mason.
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