On new album A Firmer Hand, Hamish Hawk traded the easy, early Scott Walker-indebted indie of previous albums – 2021’s Heavy Elevator and 2023’s Angel Numbers – for a darker, grittier, more sexually forthright evaluation of who the Edinburgh artist really is. The contrast gets turned up during this impressive show, which charts just how far he’s come; after more than a decade of releases, he has matured into a charismatic, Jarvis Cocker-esque performer at the edge of the big time.
After a quick introductory bow, Hawk leads his band breathlessly through A Firmer Hand’s opening four songs. His body tenses as he struts the stage, and his fierce glare only breaks when a raunchy one-liner – “I felt him fit me like a glove” he croons on Machiavelli’s Room – propels his eyebrows upwards. Save for a couple of playful touches – the “uh-huh” in Machiavelli’s Room comes an Elvis lip-curl, and the “playground jazz” in Big Cat Tattoos with a flash of jazz hands – this opening run is poised, serious business. When Hawk finally addresses the crowd – “there’s nowhere we’d rather be,” he beams – the sudden warmth comes as a shock.
His character similarly softens during older songs, smiling and dancing gently. When the line “is there anyone listening” on Elvis Look-alike Shadows is met with cheers, he lets out a surprised laugh. It’s closer to the Hawk we get between songs: funny, bashful, eager to please. That’s not to say the tougher, bolder performances of songs from A Firmer Hand feel contrived – rather that Hawk seems to inhabit them differently. It makes for a Jekyll & Hyde act, in which both new and old songs shine.
The singer’s powerful baritone is complimented by the physicality of his band, elevating tracks such as Nancy Dearest. When he strips things back for a solo, acoustic performance of Catherine Opens a Window, from 2018’s From Zero to One, it feels out of place: a conspicuous relic from his early development.
These sides of Hawk’s early catalogue finally reach some closure with a storming performance of Heavy Elevator’s Caterpillar. Seen live, it suddenly feels like it could have appeared on A Firmer Hand – that his intensity on this new album was, perhaps, always there.
• Hamish Hawk plays Digital, Newcastle upon Tyne, 12 February; then touring the UK until 22 February.
