Hawksley Workman (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves
(Island)
****

Canadian tap-dancing and singing sensation Hawksley Workman follows his acclaimed debut with a whole album dedicated to Isadora, his presumably mythical muse who "takes off her clothes and sets fire to her hair". Workman serenades her with some stunning songs filled with sublime hooks and clever wordplay. In Striptease, the young devil proclaims, "I called, you came," while Jealous of Your Cigarette ("and the things you do with it") echoes the desires Prince Charles used to exhibit about Camilla and her tampons. Thankfully, Workman's tongue is kept safely in his cheek, without hampering his Jeff Buckley-in-tight-trousers holler or his playful musical palate. The latter stretches from Sparks to Joe Jackson and twisted glam stompers that sound like Aerosmith falling down a flight of stairs. If this isn't enough to convince the world of his burgeoning genius, a tasty accompanying novel, Hawksley Burns for Isadora (published by EST), is illustrated by sketches of naked ladies, drawn by the singer's mother.