There have been few artists in the last 15 years whose output is as synonymous with a specific location as Richard Hawley’s is with Sheffield. However, the runaway success of Hawley’s previous long player 2012’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge (which entered the charts at No.3 and garnered a Mercury Prize nomination) provided conclusive proof that the former Longpig’s appeal transcends South Yorkshire.
Unsurprisingly Hawley’s inimitable baritone is in evidence throughout his eighth studio recording Hollow Meadows, however, on opener 'I Still Want You' the croon becomes world-weary rasp which almost recalls a young Springsteen at his most desolate.
The pace is increased slightly by 'The World Looks Down', which is very much business as usual for Hawley as he deploys the use strings, subtle backing vocals and arpeggio chords the sum total of which results in mesmeric chamber pop perfection.
'Which Way' could just about pass as the best Bond theme that never was and hears Hawley rhetorically plead for guidance; “which way do I go/ Is it high or low?” in front for a swirling psychedelic backdrop the boldness of which suggests that any indecisive articulated lyrically is purely figurative.
The more sanguine 'Long Time Down' is an album highlight thanks to Hawley’s most effortless melody juxtaposed with subtle banjo and sumptuous dobro resulting in five and half minutes which just as easily could have been conceived in Nashville as Sheffield.
It’s the delicate beauty of the piano-driven 'Tuesday PM', complete with the impossible fragility of a Hawley falsetto, which sums up Hollow Meadows as a whole up best - understated, sumptuous and impeccable.
“You’re precious to me/ Just like Blake’s poetry”, Hawley sings on the joyous 'Heart of Oak', and who’s to say that Hollow Meadows isn’t a work that will one day be looked upon with a similar sort of acclaim as that of the name-checked Romantic poet?
Richard Hawley's upcoming tour dates are as follows. For tickets and more information, visit here.
OCTOBER
Sun 25th Brighton Dome
Mon 26th Cambridge Corn Exchange
Tue 27th Birmingham Institute
Wed 28th Scarborough Spa – Grand Hall
Fri 30th Dublin Vicar Street
NOVEMBER
Sun 1st Leeds Academy
Mon 2nd Manchester Albert Hall
Tue 3rd Gateshead Sage
Thu 5th Glasgow Barrowland
Fri 6th Sheffield Arena – Steel Hall
Sun 8th London Roundhouse
Mon 9th Bristol Colston Hall
Tue 10th Southampton Guildhall
