Will Hawkins - Cartas No Enviadas (2025) Hi-Res

This is yet another prospecting adventure into the motherlode of one Will Hawkins. I say that since music is like prospecting. You never know what you’ll find & often there are indeed some nuggets to be found. Not every venture reaps rewards, but some artists deliver enthusiastically & Hawkins usually knows exactly where to dig & he brings the provisions required.

There are 10 self-produced “unsent letters” on Cartas No Enviadas recorded in California. I’m a Jersey boy & as I listen to these I have to admit Will (guitar/vocals/bagpipes) possesses the more creative dirt of Bruce Springsteen’s harvest. “What Your Words Say” is more pristine Springsteen in “spirit” than what Bruce presently polishes. This has the rock ‘n’ roll DNA while “the boss” has more entertainment value than grit & rootsy sensibility. Comes with age.

Even “As Good As It Gets,” where Will adds J.J. Cale seasoning to his voice but not necessarily the weatherbeaten rootsy Cale. He has just enough Cale-Americana to render sincerity & warmth to enhance his balladry & that’s found too, in a rich vein of the country-stylistic “This Is Where You Found Me.” His storytelling is acute & the writing applies itself to George Jones as much as Sinatra with these types of songs. Will avoids the pitfalls of pop music cliches & doesn’t subscribe to the standard R&R formulas.

“C’mon Now” (nice), “Messy” (this one won’t get radio airplay), & Colin Hay’s “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin” (superb) are back to Springsteen territory. But again, with more vintage Bruce than Bruce could conjure. Will Hawkins doesn’t necessarily sound like Bruce as he possesses the same edginess & tonality that made this appealing.

Will found that cookbook & unlike others, he’s a musical chef with the spirit of the music, its tradition & innovation despite some colorful language. There are commercial tunes & that’s fine. Will avoids the basic approach that many artists believe they understand rock n’ roll to be. He explores topics such as adversity, resilience & redemption. Heavy duty, on point & rock n’ roll personified.