Richard Hawley: In This City They Call You Love
(BMG)
CD | LP | DL | Stream
Out 31st May 2024
Richard Hawley follows up on his Best Of collection and the critically acclaimed and award-winning musical Standing At The Sky’s Edge with his new album, In This City They Call You Love. And this proves once again to be another beautiful, intimate, emotive, and often poignant collection of songs which are full of romance, love and heartbreak as well as the heart, soul and passionate love for his home town of Sheffield, which continues to inspire so much of his work.
In 2023, Richard Hawley released his magnificent Best Of collection entitled Now Then which, as Louder Than War celebrated at the time, ‘is a magnificent representation of his talents both in songwriting and performance’. So how does he follow that? Well, for those who know Richard and his music, it will come as no surprise that it is these rich talents that he harnesses once again to produce his new album, In This City They Call You Love, which is full of romance, love and heartbreak as well as the heart, soul and passionate love for his home town of Sheffield that has provided so much inspiration for his sublime and often heart-wrenching songwriting over the years.
Over a solo career spanning more than 20 years, Richard has released nine solo albums, all of which have, in so many different ways, showcased just how much Richard is steeped in the heritage of the classic rock’n’roll music that has gone on to shape so many subsequent generations of musicians. But whilst it flows through so much of Richard’s own songwriting, the songs have always retained a totally unique and individual quality, as well as a sound and identity distinctly his own. Whilst he continues to draw effortlessly on his wide and eclectic influences, there has always been an inherent romance in his sound, regardless of the underlying narratives, due to the beautiful melodies, majestic orchestrations and his rich and deep baritone vocals, which have always been one of his defining points.
So what inspiration could Richard find for studio album number ten? I will let Richard explain it as follows, “I’ve made three albums where I had the title before I’d even begun to record, where I had an agenda. One was Truelove’s Gutter. Another was Standing At The Sky’s Edge when I wanted to turn everything up and make the music a lot more aggressive, and then this one. I wanted it to be multi-coloured in a way… focusing on the voice and what voices can do together… I deliberately only played a handful of guitar solos to keep it focused on voices, the song and space…”
As for the album title, well, those of us who were born and bred in the fine city of Sheffield really need no explanation. But for those of you who weren’t I will leave it to Richard again to explain, “This is a city where hairy tattooed builders and burly bus drivers will call you love. We have our own ancient language. It’s Shakespearean, Chaucerian. And I’ve tried recording elsewhere, but I always end up coming back to Yellow Arch in Sheffield. The joke is that it used to be a tool works and now it’s a place where us tools work!”
The album begins in a gloomy and menacing mood with Two For His Heels, a title inspired by Richard overhearing a phrase from a game of cribbage being played in a local working man’s club. Rumbling along with a Duane Eddy-style twang and looping riff from a Mexican Baja Sexto, it paints a sinister picture which Richard conjured up in his head “about escaping this murderous king or father or something, running off with his daughter.” Nothing like a bit of drama to kick-start the album! The raw and stripped-down feel of the album continues into Have Love which weaves and shuffles with Richard’s dark tones taking centre stage over a light and airy guitar riff backed with a repetitive percussive beat which fashions a seriously primitive groove.
Prism In Jeans is classic Hawley as its charming rhythm simply radiates an infectious sense of joy, contrasting somewhat with a narrative which Richard describes as being “about someone who is like a rainbow in a very confined space” as he sings “there is an epic loneliness that you just can’t hide when you just can’t fit or belong.” It’s a vibe that takes you back to a bygone era in the late 50’s and early 60’s when melody and harmony ruled the pop waves with Richard’s glorious vocals once again right at the forefront. Heavy Rain is a slow and mournful lament for absent friends which has a more country feel as he reflects that ‘even at the ending of the world, you know I’m always thinking of you girl.’ As Richard explains “A lot of this comes straight from the demo I did in my little shed in the garden I call Disgracelands. If you listen hard, you can hear birdsong and dogs barking and kids shouting over each other.”
The next song, People, provides another opportunity for Richard to celebrate the city of Sheffield which has provided so much inspiration to both his songwriting and his album titles throughout his solo years, with this album’s title emerging from within its lyrics. It’s a stark and somewhat unsentimental meander through some of some of the key areas which contribute to the rich heritage of the ‘city of knives’. And just as Dylan delved back into his folk and country roots with Duquesne Whistle back in 2012, Richard’s wide and eclectic influences flow through once again as the spirit of Patsy Cline lingers long and hard through Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow, with its gorgeous melody and charming vibe; perhaps not surprising given Richard’s recent series of shows with John Grant performing the songs of Patsy.
Richard makes a very sudden side-step away from the low-key vibe of the album with Deep Space as he plunders the harder-edged and more uptempo vibe that made Standing At The Sky’s Edge such a remarkable album. As Richard explains, “It’s the most rocking thing on the record. It came from a feeling that I couldn’t ignore. This insane position where Elon Musk and Richard Branson are charging people £1,000,000 to go up into space when we’re bombing kids and stuff. But it’s also about understanding that need to escape from the madness…into space or into yourself. The face-melting guitar sound is played on a fuzz/wah pedal from Eastern Europe called a Poltava. Built by the Ukrainians and the Russians jointly.” The irony of this set against the sonic imagery of war evoked from the overblown guitar solos was not lost on me. In sharp contrast, Deep Waters is a soul-searching quest for forgiveness and salvation, fuelled only by Richard’s dark baritone vocals, an acoustic guitar and some beautifully reflective gospel-style harmonies.
I’ll Never Get Over You brings out the very best from Richard’s velvety tones, evoking the spirit of Roy Orbison amidst a light and airy arrangement as this gentle ballad once again fosters a strong sense of heartbreak and devotion. So sad, but simply gorgeous. Do I Really Need To Know plunders a jealous lover’s anguish set against a sweet and soulful bossa nova style beat, with a guest appearance by Jarvis Cocker on backing vocals. Interestingly, Richard states that “The guitar solo on this is my second favourite solo of mine ever after Open Up Your Door.”
The album closes with two songs which have a beautiful and reflective feel about them, appropriately focused on the close of the day. When The Lights Go Out delights with its south-of-the-border spirit as its narrative encourages us to put aside any doubts we may have and put more trust in ourselves. After all, “true love don’t make a sound.” ‘Tis Night serves as the perfect ending with its sparse and emotive arrangement accompanied by melancholy strings evoking a sense of romantic longing which, as Richard so aptly observes is, “a quiet, reflective song, an end of the evening song when it’s just you and whoever else is there…”
With Richard on vocals and guitars, he is, of course, joined by his long-term band members comprising of Shez Sheridan on guitars, Colin Elliot on bass and Dean Beresford on drums. Augmenting the sound are the strings from various members of the Up North Session Orchestra. Also worthy of note is that nearly all the solos on the album are played either on a guitar loaned to him by the late Scott Walker’s family, or his dad’s old Gretsch or the Telecaster that belonged to his friend Duane Eddy. As Richard says, “The album most definitely is a family affair.”
More recently Richard has been riding on the crest of a wave following the huge critical acclaim for the musical Standing At the Sky’s Edge. This arose from a collaboration with director Robert Hastie and writer Chris Bush focused on a truly moving and inspiring story centred on the development of Park Hill flats in Sheffield. The musical won the Best New Musical and Best Original Score awards at the 2023 Olivier Awards and is still available to see prior to its closure in London set for 3 August 2024. With this intimate, transfixing, emotive and beautifully framed new album and a forthcoming UK tour, there is little doubt that Richard Hawley has weaved his way very much into the public consciousness and the very heart of the Nation.
In This City They Call You Love, perhaps more than any other of Richard Hawley’s albums, showcases the lighter side of his considerable songwriting talents, allowing more space for the songs to breathe in the most natural way possible, whilst still nurturing the flowing melodies and beautiful arrangements that are so typical of his work. It’s an album that weaves a spell which grows stronger through repeated listens to the point where it settles easily into the very fabric of your soul. It is also an album that provides a most effective antidote to the harsh realities of life that surround us all so I really do recommend a dose.
Richard Hawley’s tour across the UK to promote this album continues in June at the following dates and venues:
02 Glasgow – Barrowland Ballroom
03 Edinburgh – Usher Hall
05 Leicester – De Montfort Hall
06 Bristol – Beacon
08 London – Eventim Apollo
09 Brighton – Dome
11 Wolverhampton – Wulfrun Hall
12 Manchester – O2 Apollo
13 Gateshead – The Glasshouse International Centre For Music
15 Liverpool – Olympia
16 Norwich – Nick Rayns LCR, UEA
18 Portsmouth – Guildhall
20 Scarborough – Spa
Richard also has a huge headlining show at Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield on 29 August (Rock’N’Roll Circus), and is also appearing at the Beautiful Days Festival in Ottery St. Mary and the End Of The Road Festival in Handley in August.
Tickets for all tour dates can be purchased here.
You can pre-order the album here.
You can find Richard Hawley on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and his website.
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All words by Ian Corbridge. You can find more of his writing at his author profile here.
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