Hawksley Workman

'Old Cheetah' (album stream)

BY Alex HudsonPublished May 25, 2015

In the last couple of years, Canadian songwriter Hawksley Workman has branched out by drumming with his supergroup Mounties and touring his "one-man cabaret" The God That Comes. Now, he's back to emphasizing his solo career, and with Old Cheetah due out on June 2 through Six Shooter Records, Exclaim! has got the stream of the entire album.

The 12-song effort is theatrical and ambitious. Workman's signature eclecticism shines brightly on songs like "1000 Miles of Atmosphere," a nine-and-a-half-minute prog epic that's stuffed with syncopated rhythms, star-dazzled synth twinkles and unpredictable sonic shifts.

Although not every song is quite that wildly sprawling, Workman never goes on autopilot and proves that even an old cheetah can learn new tricks. The style range from the falsetto-flecked soul of "Teenage Cats" to the piano-driven space-rock anthem "We're Not Broken Yet," to the salt-of-the-earth folk of "It's Really Starting to Snow" and the cabaret psych of "Small Town Dracula."

It's a lot to absorb, so dive into the ambitious Old Cheetah below.

Workman has a series of summer concerts lined up, and you can see those here. You can also pre-order the album here.

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