SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: RON HAWKINS – TRASH TALKIN’ AT THE SPEED OF SOUND

Ron Hawkins
Trash Talkin’ At The Speed Of Sound
Sonic Envy

Ron Hawkins, best known as an original founding member and lead singer/songwriter of Toronto’s legendary Lowest Of The Low, has embraced synths and electro drum beats for his six-song experimental solo EP album Trash Talkin’ At The Speed Of Sound.

The multi-faceted sound and experimentation in which Hawkins explores in Trash Talkin’ At The Speed Of Sound is unlike the mostly straight-up folk rock’n’ roll that is synonymous with the catalogues of Hawkins and the Lowest Of The Low.

With a production and music injection from Devon Lougheed (Skye Wallace, Hey Ocean!),  Hawkins blends his prolific lyrics and distinctive vocals with a fresh sound, moving outside of his comfort zone (if he has one), with this dynamic, energized release.

The most startling and eye-opening is “Can’t Be Love”, a duet with haunting background vocals provided by Jill Riley and a particularly sharp spoken word segment provided by poet Britta Badour, which has a certain ‘80s charm and harkens to a melding of musical styles in the vein of Sinéad O’Connor and MC Lyte with their 1987 collaboration “I Want Your (Hands On Me)”. This may be the catchiest tune on the EP, followed by the rock & rollicking first single “Church Of The Chemical DJ” and last song “The Undertow”. Each album track has individual strengths that could lend each and every one of them to be a potential radio single.

Trash Talkin’ At The Speed Of Sound has many twists and turns, which work really well. It’ll be quite the treat for fans of Hawkins’ résumé to experience his on-point vocals and lyrics with a background that is outside of his normal realm, a timeless classic artist with a new, different mode.

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