A Firmer Hand

A Firmer Hand is the upcoming third studio album by Scottish musician Hamish Hawk, to be released on 16 August 2024 by Fierce Panda and So Recordings. The album was written by Hawk and guitarist Andrew Pearson in 2022–2023. It was produced in Edinburgh by frequent collaborator and manager Rod Jones. The album artwork features a black and white portrait of the singer with his face half obscured by a black shadow. Its title refers to a line from the song "Big Cat Tattoos" and highlights the defiant nature of the record.

A Firmer Hand deviates thematically from Hawk's previous output and deals with darker subjects relating to sexuality. Its lyrical content focuses on Hawk's relationships with men: friends, lovers, family and colleagues. Previous to its release, the album is being promoted by the singles "Big Cat Tattoos", "Nancy Dearest" and "Men Like Wire".

Background and recording
Hawk's second studio album Angel Numbers was released in February 2023 to critical acclaim, and further established Hawk and his band on the indie scene. Hawk wrote "Questionable Hit" while recording Angel Numbers, but felt the song "didn't fit" on that record, as it was very different thematically. By the time the previous album was released Hawk said they had "the bulk of a new album written", and that it would be recorded at some point that year.

Once again he joined forces with frequent collaborator Rod Jones, and the sessions took place at Post Electric Studio in Leith, Edinburgh.

Musical style and influences
A Firmer Hand has been characterised as sophisti-pop and indie rock. The album has been compared to the works of Morrissey, Neil Hannon and Stephin Merritt. Hawk has mentioned some of the songs on the album reminded him of bands such as Pet Shop Boys, Culture Club, Bronski Beat and Soft Cell. He said, "what I find exciting and inspiring about bands like the Pet Shop Boys is that they are openly gay without sanitizing it. Especially in the wake of something like the AIDS crisis".

Lyrics and themes
A Firmer Hand is an album centered on Hawk's relationships with the men in his life including friends, lovers, family and colleagues. It has been described as a "rich anthology of diary entries, homoerotic encounters, vainglorious men and unreliable narrators", as well as, approaching "the haunted psychosexual drama of Pulp's This Is Hardcore" (1998). Male sexuality became the album's focus through writing the tracks "Machiavelli's Room", "Milk an Ending" and "Juliet as Epithet". Hawk noted that after he had written those songs, the album was going to be "less embellished, less florid in its language", he also noted a "maturation" compared to his previous records, and a "growing unwillingness to compromise" with his audience. He pointed out that the link between all the songs is a "sense of the unsaid".

Artwork and title
The album's artwork features a black and white portrait of Hawk with his face half obscured by a black shadow. On the artwork, Hawk stated "sometimes you get the sense that certain albums have certain color palettes. [...] I do think even with the artwork and the songs, it’s a dark record".

The album's title is in reference to a line from the album's first single, "Big Cat Tattoos". It highlights the defiant nature of the record, and is a rejection of concerns over the audience response to the album's subject matter: "I’ve pushed through that because I am, as I say, a people pleaser. I thought I’d try and take up less space, and now I’m not doing that quite as much", Hawk said.

Release and promotion
The release of A Firmer Hand was first announced on 29 April 2024. That same day several tour dates were announced, taking place through May until August, including in-store gigs to promote the record. On August 7, Hawk will perform a live set hosted by Vic Galloway, for BBC Radio Scotland, at the Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.

Singles and videos
The album's lead single "Big Cat Tattoos" premiered on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 6 Music show, on 29 April 2024. The next day an accompanying music video was released, directed and edited by guitarist Andrew Pearson. The video was recorded at Freakworks in Leith, and features Hawk in a film studio, with five faceless men dressed in black suits standing in it, while Hawk dances around.

In June, the second single, "Nancy Dearest" was released alongside a music video, also directed and edited by Pearson. Shot between Freakworks and Nobles Bar, it seems to serve as a prequel to the previous single video. In it, the faceless men in suits appear at a bar, and the "Big Cat Tattoos" set is featured again.

In July, the third single, "Men Like Wire" premiered on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 6 Music show. That same day a music video, once again directed and edited by Pearson, was released on Hawk's Youtube channel. Like the preceding videos, it was shot at Freakworks in Leith, and featured Hawk wearing the same outfit, surrounded by the faceless men in suits.

Critical reception
Roy Wilkinson of Mojo said "the huge exhilaration of Hawk’s previous two albums has largely been replaced by more troubled moods", and noted A Firmer Hand had more stylistic variety, while maintaining Hawk's skilled lyricism. Stephen Dalton of Uncut was not as complimentary and described the instrumentation and lyrics as "overwrought" and "slightly too pleased with themselves", respectively. Nevertheless, Dalton thought the album themes were, "tastefully upholstered in robust analogue indie-rock" and praised Hawk's vocal performance in the tracks "Big Cat Tattoos" and "Questionable Hit".