Hawksley Workman

On the heels of this year's Polaris Prize-nominated Meat comes its counterpart, the more danceable, but less enjoyable, Milk. You will spend the first song, and most of the second, wondering if you've mistakenly pushed play on a Euro dance pop album, from the too overt sexual references to the animalistic background whaling on "Animal Behaviour." Confusion peaks on the unapologetically grimy "Warhol's Portrait of Gretzky," and from there, things get weird, fast, which is obviously the point. "Who Do They Kiss?" is at least identifiably a Workman song and there's merit in the fact that it could have survived on its own without the stinging clap tracks and spoken word breakdown. "Google Jesus" sounds more like Polish pop music discovered via YouTube on a rainy afternoon, and from that point on you'll scratch your head more than you'll tap your toes. Stranger still is "Devastating," the one track that is quintessentially Hawksley Workman-esque, lustfully waxing nostalgic over yet another off-the-charts broken heart. An album full of this would have been sufficient, but it's clear that Workman didn't set out to make another (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves or Lover/Fighter ― that would have been too easy. Instead, we have punchy lyrics, electro gimmicks and a track called "Stay Drunk and Keep Fucking." Come on, Hawksley, you're better than that.