Richard Hawley – Standing At The Sky's Edge

Album Review by Chris McCall | 01 May 2012
Album title: Standing At The Sky's Edge
Artist: Richard Hawley
Label: Parlophone
Release date: 7 May

Cave dwellers! One-time Pulp and Longpigs guitarist Richard Hawley found solo success in the mid-noughties by writing melodic baroque pop that perfectly suited his rich baritone voice. He took a darker turn on 2009's Truelove's Gutter, but it's still fair to say that his decision to venture down a highway firmly marked 'psychedelic rock' is a brave one.

We get off to a bad start with She Brings the Sunlight, echoing a latter-day, shroomed-out Oasis, but with none of the verve required to carry it off. Time Will Bring You Winter, meanwhile, is as ridiculous as its title suggests. Hawley has stated his desire to move away from the orchestration of past output and he can certainly wield an axe with the best of them. But quite why he would choose to bury his finest attribute – his voice – behind a wall of guitars is mystifying. It leaves us with little to love about this record and even less to remember.

http://www.richardhawley.co.uk