AMG Review of Hanky Panky

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

It is true that Matt Johnson offers some startingly original interpretations of Hank Williams songs on Hanky Panky -- he makes them sound like The The songs. That doesn't necessarily mean he's tapped into the essence of Williams' music, it means that he is a gifted arranger. Most of the song pulse to an electronic beat and the atmophere is thick with forboding doom. Strangely enough, it works better than several The The records, since Hank Williams is a better songwriter than Matt Johnson.