Richard Hawley – Lady’s Bridge
Given the rude health of the Sheffield music scene and the more celebrated representatives thereof, it seems downright incongruous to see Richard Hawley as being part of the same beast. And I suppose he isn’t, really, despite his music being so rooted in the geography – both physical and emotional – of the place.
No, Hawley is a genuine iconoclast. Not that his music is all that original – it’s basically just a straightforward re-interpretation of 50s lounge croon with a little country mixed in for good effect. Also, he’s not really changed his template since his wonderful six-track debut EP back in 2001, so given he announced prior to the release of this album that he wasn’t really interested in trying to re-invent the wheel, why is it so satisfying?
As I see it, it’s simply because over the years Richard Hawley has been honing his craft and he is now very, very good at what he does. I was not all that taken with his first album proper, and I found his follow up, Lowedges, downright soporific. But one dazzling performance at the Liquid Rooms last year and a belated purchase of Cole’s Corner later, and I was converted all over again.
Ultimately, the difference for me was the liveliness of the music. Live, he brought so much more glow and charm to songs which I had begun to find increasingly one-paced and flat on record, so I thought I’d go and give Cole’s Corner a try. Well, it wasn’t just live, the whole album was a vastly more engaging collection than anything he had produced since that debut EP five years ago. There was variation, a bit more pep, more hooks and melodies, and less morose monotone. It was like, after several years of trying, he had finally cracked what it was he was trying to achieve in the first place.
Now that’s probably nothing like how Hawley himself would tell it, and it may offend the hardcore fans, but that’s how I grew into his music. Lady’s Bridge is very much ‘as you were’ after the increased commercial success of Cole’s Corner, with a wonderful sweeping trajectory from the rich, intimate ballads to the anachronistic rock ‘n’ roll – emphasis on the roll – of I’m Looking For Someone to Find Me or Serious. Tonight the Streets Are Ours is an absolutely archetypcal Hawley anthem, all mandolins (I think) and soaring strings – grandiose even, in its own way. And on it goes – it’s all classic Hawley, just brighter and better.
For my money, Hawley may not change much, but he just seems to keep improving.
Richard Hawley – Serious
Richard Hawley – Sun Refused to Shine
Have you got ‘Late Night Final’ Matthew? It’s in the top 3 with ‘CC’ and the newie for me. More Hawley over at http://theghostofelectricity.blogspot.com/ readers(he says, shamelessly exploiting Matthew’s higher-trafficked blog to promote his own, the rotter).
For my money, Late Night FInal is my total fave, but that may be more to do with time and place as much as anything. It has Something Is and Baby, You’re My Light. But I agree – the new album really is something special. It’s actually a big step forward from Coles Corner, even if it sounds a lot similar…
Rotter. Yup, just about sums you up Davy, ya bastard.
I do have Late Night Final, and it just didn’t really grab me. I may revisit it now because both you and The Daily Growl are big fans, but generally Late Night Final and Lowedges put me off to the extent that it took a superlative live performance to draw me back in to the world of Hawley.
You never know though, sometimes it takes a wake-up call to properly appreciate things you’ve known for a long time.
Ah Tim – simultaneous posting. I’d almost call this one his first pop album. It seems so confident, it’s quite a surprise.