HAWKE
LOVE WON ANOTHER
EIGHTH DIMENSION RECORDS

Hardkiss is practically a byword for the genre-fusing possibilities the West Coast music scene can offer, much like the earlier Haight Ashbury counter-culture movement, or similar West Coast producers like Jay-J, Hipp-E or DJ Garth. Let’s face it, a  release like 3 Nudes In A Purple Garden couldn’t really have come from anywhere else, could it?  Love Won Another is Gavin Hardkiss’s third full length album as Hawke, and, as previously, is anything but chock fulla straight-up club bangers.  Which is exactly why we love it. Influences range from guitar plucking indie to navel gazing ambience, via Latin-American jazz and, well, generally laid-back imaginings.  Hardkiss stated he wanted to create a certain balearic feel to this release and he’s certainly succeeded – the wash of sounds mesh together like sand and sea, creating a perfectly relaxed atmosphere, even on more uptempo cuts like the dreamlike disco of Remember Tomorrow.  Elsewhere, the title cut brings the tempo down for a funk styled vocals, kind of Acid Jazz era Brand New Heavies.  The Monkey’s Wedding stretches out under voilin and acoustic guitar symphonies.  There are a couple of clunkers along the way, which can be forgiven (although Flower Girl should never had made the final cut), but overall, you’ll struggle to find a better full-length release to usher in the summer solstice with.

5 Out Of 5

Reviewed By: DARREN WALL