I was sent this with a request to write something about the title track, but as soon as I heard the rest of the album, I knew that I needed to talk about the bigger picture. Who could, in good conscience, listen to the opener, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and not want to broadcast its brilliance to other discerning music fans – the smooth and scintillating horns, the soulful vibes, the rise and fall of the Hammond, the bubbling basslines, the voice, the sonic sophistication, the sentiment, the, the…the…. oh maan!
And on my way to the suggested track, you pass by recent single, “Baby, baby, baby, baby,” a song sculpted of dreamy sonics that, if you were to look for it in the record store, would be filed under the heading sheer seduction. Then you find yourself at the suggested title track which proves to be a gorgeous slice that sits equidistant between the soulman and the singer-songwriter like Al Green covering a Dylan classic, or Otis Redding jamming with Paul Simon.
“Dayenu” is understament personified, a song full of deft and delicate musical strands but woven together with such sonic spatial awareness that you can see every perfect stitch in the design and “Tears Like A River” wanders between soft sentiments and sonic punch, a song forged of the idea that musical opposites can be oh so attractive.
As we are getting to that point of the year where every publication and blog is waxing lyrical about their best albums of the last 12 months or so, here is a litmus test for you. If Hawk in the Nest doesn’t feature in their top ten, then cancel your subscription immediately; they clearly don’t know what they are talking about!
