Hawk

VINYL FORMAT. 'It's a small mystery why 'Campbell and Lanegan' hasn't yet become shorthand for a certain kind of Belle et la Bete pairing that explores the difference between two different vocal textures and - let's be honest - exploits the fantasy of delicate young Bel being tempted by a grizzled old grunge-legend, and maybe have to tame him or show her own teeth. With the Serge Gainsbourg film in cinemas right now, it's a timely reminder that's pretty much what Isobel was thinking three albums ago, when they first hooked up. They're both legitimate ends - rather than ways to paper over the cracks, or appeal to the listener's shallowness - because some singers do get typecast, individually, and it's idiotic to let yourself remain an acquired taste for the sake of pursuing your solitary vision. Since the first Campbell & Lanegan record, Zooey Deschanel's come along with a similar set of songs but completely failed to take advantage of M Ward's unmistakable vocals, while Scarlett Johansson's made the similar mistake of treating Dave Sitek as a means to her end, rather than treating their pairing as a means to a shared end. Anyhow. . . Hawk is the most energetic record yet from the pair, with several pointers towards the sound of the enduring record they may well have in them. Before, they leaned towards retro-pop and chamber-folk, but now the county-blues elements have come to the fore, and on the title-track (with its blaring sax and fuzzy guitars) the aggression their music's always needed.' - Alexander Tudor / Downed in Sound