by Craig Howieson

Angel Numbers is the first taste of new music from Edinburgh’s Hamish Hawk since his stunning 2021 record, Heavy Elevator. And while it may not be a drastic change of course from the elaborately adorned indie pop he created on that album, there is a hurricane in his sails as he steps forward once more into the spotlight. 

Cloaked by ricocheting guitar and bass, and with his voice having lost none of it’s dramatic edge, Angel Numbers is serious about not taking life too seriously. Hawk’s music rips with a flamboyance and jubilation that is far too often absent from his peers. Even when toying with the fearful notion of living life beyond boundaries – as he does here – he does it with a spring in his step, and with undercurrents of classic rock and a penchant for a melody begging to be sung back in sweaty bars. 

‘I’ve been known to backtrack,’ Hawk sings during the track’s bridge, but it feels almost impossible to halt the forward momentum he has created.