Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge

There is no other artist out there that makes me want to hold my wife more than Richard Hawley. That pitch perfect croon, that unabashed romanticism, that ringing echoed guitar. I realize that my description makes it sound like I wouldn't mind giving him a hug as well, but the fact is, that in an indie world, you're more likely to find influences like Bowie or the Velvet Underground as opposed to say, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. However, even legendary 60's crooner Scott Walker has lumped Mr. Hawley in with the all-time greats. This is interesting when you consider the fact that Hawley got his start as a backup guitarist in mainstream Britpop bands like Longpigs and Pulp. Thankfully, his band members encouraged him to go out on his own, and since then he has recorded some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Coles Corner, for example, from his 3rd album of the same name, has a timelessness that makes it sound like the type of song that would've gone down in history if it had been recorded about 40 years earlier. Needless to say, I'm a fan. So how does his 4th album, Lady's Bridge, stand up in comparison?

I have to admit, as a whole the album tends to lag a little bit more than its predecessor. It feels like he's spinning his wheels a little bit. But his voice is so powerful and majestic that even a lesser Hawley song comes across to me as a refreshing change from everything else that I listen to. And there are some great songs here. "Roll River Roll" has a slight shuffle to its sound with country-ish piano accompaniment that is sparse and controlled, meaning that it only chimes in when necessary. The stand up bass in "Serious" is awesome and the song is an all-out rockabilly assault that Brian Setzer could only dream of pulling off. The first single is "Tonight The Streets Are Ours" and the sound is unique from a male standpoint since the only artist doing this sound today are artists like Camera Obscura. However, Hawley does it here and still manages to sound manly. My other favorite is "I'm Looking For Someone To Find Me" which makes me laugh because it sort of reminds me of some of the goofy songs that you'd hear in one of Elvis' many B-movies. Perhaps I'm reverting to my childhood when I hear the song. Although it also reminds me of Morrissey a little bit too. Either way, this is an enjoyable album that may not quite stand up to his previous material, but still has enough quality songs to keep it interesting.

Richard Hawley will be at The Horseshoe on Wednesday December 5th.

Myspace: Richard Hawley
Video: Serious youtube / Tonight The Streets Are Ours youtube