Ron Hawkins

The reunion of '90s indie rock heroes the Lowest of the Low may not have had the commercial or creative impact of the first incarnation but one of their leading lights, Ron Hawkins, continues to produce quality solo work. 10 Kinds Of Lonely is sparser musically than the albums he made with the Rusty Nails, and Hawkins plays most of the instruments; his gutsy guitar playing is top-notch. Guest cello, horns, harmonica (from long-time comrade Lawrence Nichols) and backing vocals help flesh out some of the tunes. The ten songs were written in just five weeks then recorded in Hawkins's basement. The spontaneous results confirm his status as one of our best wordsmiths, with clever lines like "all those neighbourhood boys just want to get into your corduroys" abounding. The rugged integrity of his voice remains, with Billy Bragg coming to mind as a reference point. Hawkins jokes that these are songs about "dead-ends, deadbeats and dead men," and he has a knack for creating convincing characters. That's shown on standout tracks like "Genevieve," about a girl he "left all alone on the dark end of the phone" and "The Prodigal Son." This is a very solid addition to a formidable body of work.