Richard Hawley, Further - album review
Those unmistakeable dulcet tones are back, as is the often softly-softly approach to guitar strumming.
But a lot of what Richard Hawley offers on this eighth full-length studio album is a little different to what we have come to expect.
For a start, this is the first time he has opted against naming a record after a famous icon or landmark from his beloved Sheffield home.
He told himself it has to be up-beat and shorter than what he'd normally write - the whole 11 tracks clock in at a not-time-consuming 40 minutes.
Soft rock and folk tales swim by with nonchalant ease. The title track with its string accompaniment is one such meandering float down this musical river that calms and soothes you as it wanders past with its rising melodies in the chorus.
There's some The Coral-esque rock funk flowing through Alone. Its stomping percussion and warning sign choruses fit snugly into that dangerous area of 'fun' which leaves you feeling like you might get your fingers burned but you can't let go.
He really lets loose with the guitar through segments of Galley Girl. An old style rock n roll underbelly is glammed up with some Arctic Monkeys-like growling electrics - fellow alumni of the Steel City of course. The deep buzz that reverberates throughout this song reminds us the 52-year-old Hawley can revel in the gloomier side of songwriting when the mood takes him.
There is something that always feels so approachable about Hawley and his work. His friendly stage manner, always grateful for your support, shines through in his writing of songs like Midnight Train. Almost sounding like a Lighthouse Family number with that hopefulness of the higher pitched vocals, Hawley manages to convey another layer of warmth through the song's delivery.
We even have time for a romping good guitar slug on Is There A Pill? Here, we touch upon elements of country rock as that whip-smart guitar drawl floating through the middle sounds like a lit powder trail snaking towards that pile of dynamite.
It's another hugely likeable body of work from Mr Hawley.
Rating: 7/10
Richard Hawley plays Birmingham's O2 Institute on October 10
