Torn Hawk
Let’s Cry and Do Pushups at the Same Time
MEXICAN SUMMER
6/10
Brooklyn-based electronic musician, visual artist, and producer Luke Wyatt named his sophomore album under his Torn Hawk moniker Let’s Cry and Do Pushups at the Same Time. The strange name seems to promise a rollercoaster of emotional catharsis mixed with machismo, but the album itself can’t truly live up to the title’s intriguing jumble. What listeners do get from Wyatt’s latest is eight sweeping soundscapes perfect for a long car ride, or a late-night cram session where you need noise in the room to break the deafening silence, but not music that’s exciting enough to distract you from studying. Each track is incredibly pleasant (“Because of the M.A.S.K.” and “Afterprom” standing above the rest), but the LP lacks the jagged edges and unique DIY production details heard within his debut full-length Through Force of Will. Cry and Do Pushups presents the listener with a Torn Hawk with a higher production value and, unfortunately, it sounds like money has smoothed out Wyatt’s stimulating imperfections as well.
