British Steel
Expansive, swooning tour de force from unstoppable Sheffield stalwart.
Richard Hawley looks out on the sold-out crowd before him and cracks a knowing smile. Having just returned from a holiday ("In my mind, I'm still in Dorset, y'know?") the be-quiffed crooner's thoughts seem to be elsewhere. Indeed if it wasn't for a helpful onlooker, Hawley may have played the entire gig, not just the first half, with his flies undone. None of this matters, such is his focus and commitment throughout the next 90 minutes. Another songwriter whose childhood was steeped in treacle-voiced tales of love, loss and heartache, the Sheffield songman has spent the last decade perfecting a blend of Great American Songbook-style arrangements and quintessentially British experiences on the likes of For Your Lover, Give Some Time: "Here's a toast to you, Helene/All the cinemas we ran in from the rain/Laughing, clutching soaking newspapers to your face." It conjures a rain-swept tableau of bittersweet romance that is Hawley through and through.
Backed by a full band – including a musical saw's alien drone – tonight's performance focuses on last year's Trueloves Gutter. As The Dawn Breaks, Ashes on the Fire and Soldier On are all sombre creations inviting us to peer into the cool, ocean mists of Hawley's cavernous guitar and faultless baritone, while the spine-tingling Open Up Your Door transforms from hushed ballad to ear-bleeding anthem of distorted Gretsch hollow-body and orchestral strings. This is a relatively tiny venue for Hawley, so moments of sonic assault gain an intimate potency that would have previously been lost. The trend continues through a stunning, 10-minute Remorse Code and a valedictory Run for Me; both concrete reminders of Hawley's prowess as a guitarist. Whether he's coaxing mercurial melodies from the fretboard or summoning a cosmic supernova of reverb and feedback via the ever-pulsing tremolo arm, it chimes effortlessly with the emotional intent of each track.
Older material – from Lowedges and Coles Corner – slots alongside recent songs well, but it's the stately pace of the new tracks that define his performance. Hawley eases himself into these, each breath used to full effect, each pause between chord-changes held on to with tantalising precision. An encore of Hushabye Mountain is an enchantingly eerie finale to an evening that makes us all "wave goodbye to the cares of the day".
Ross Bennett
Mojo
Now you've read that, buy the magazine – good four star review of Eliza Carthy & Norma Waterson's new album too.