*** SOPHIE B. HAWKINS “Tongues and Tails” <i> Columbia</i>

There may be no better pop single in 1992 than newcomer Hawkins’ “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” an expression of unrequited longing so feisty, complex and seductive that it’s hard to imagine that the singer wouldn’t get anything she goes after. Hawkins essays a universal emotion as idiosyncratically as possible--paradoxical qualities that often herald the arrival of a major talent.

The rest of this 25-year-old New Yorker’s debut is spottier but always intriguing. Her vocal timbre isn’t far from Madonna’s, whose less danceable, more confessional tracks might have influenced Hawkins. Synth-heavy arrangements give a murky, rhythmic cast to the introspective material, which veers between New Age-era romanticism and a surprisingly heady, nutso street literalism. It’s understandable if her sex appeal figures into the marketing, but Hawkins seems even more of a true eccentric than a pretty face.

Two other tracks rival the single as standouts: Hawkins boldly covers Dylan’s wordy “I Want You” as a sensitive ballad, and doesn’t even sound ridiculous in the process. And “Carry Me”--a bizarre, possibly brilliant song about accepting your mother’s nature as your own--ends in double time with a cacophony of almost orgasmic moaning, as if to suggest what a wild, terrifying, exhilarating roller coaster ride life is. Hawkins sounds like someone pop fans might want to take along for the ride.

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