Paul Hawkins & Thee Awkward Silences: APOLOGIES TO THE ENLIGHTENMENT (Jezus Factory Records). Release date 19 April 2010.This is the second outing for the quirky Hawkins and co and an ambitious project it is too. It’s a deranged, traumatic journey spanning two CDs that takes you from hypochondria to desolation via unemployment and rejection and, whilst it really is as hard to digest as it sounds, it does provide for an entertaining voyage. Hawkins’ vocal style is a distinctive one, with a frenzied huskiness to it, occasionally bearing resemblance to the late Alex Harvey. This mingles well with the music, often possessing a tribal feel, with backing vocals used to good effect. Songs like ‘Monkey Serum; and ‘Stop Making A Scene’ illustrate a desire to venture into a more commercial arena, with the beat taking up a more prominent assertion. Elsewhere there is often disarray in the sound, although a strange cohesion that bonds it together, ‘You’re Never Gonna Leave Behind The Freakshow’ is a solid example, with a spasmodic force pulled into line by the imposition of an insistent piano line.

The general disorder is skilfully perpetrated though and what it does exude is a raw punky earthiness reminiscent of early anti-punksters like The Fall and the in vogue Ian Dury, giving it a degree of magnetic character that fuels the intrigue to draw you back for more. At times it suffers through its length; not just the double CD itself, but several of the songs outstay their welcome and at the end of the trip you are left feeling uneasy, with a distinct sense of having just trespassed upon somebody else’s private nightmare. So it needs working at, but work well invested should you take the time.

3.5/5

www.myspace.com/theeawkwardsilences

TC