Mute U.S.
2009
Truelove's Gutter
About This Album
Richard Hawley has always shown a penchant for writing deeply evocative and emotional songs about places (usually in his home of Sheffield), people, and situations. His first couple of recordings, especially Lowedges, reflected his obsession with lushly orchestrated pop songs and a production style that extended a song far beyond its margins and into the listener's world with a near visual sensibility. This was even more true on the brilliant, near cinematic recordings Cole's Corner (2005) and Lady's Bridge (2007), where he took production skills and hometown images to a level that almost -- but not quite -- overtook the glorious melodies in his songs. Hawley created emotional atmospheres as well as sonic ones; nostalgia was a poetic device that evoked the ghosts of history, but were clearly present for the listener. On Truelove's Gutter (another Sheffield-inspired title), Hawley has dug the well much deeper and brought forth a spring of new ideas in his singing, writing, and production, but paradoxically, has done so with less. The album is more sparse than anything he's released. Its eight songs have a decidedly late-night feel. The grand sweeping orchestral strings of his last two albums have been replaced by a chamber section and odd instrumentation -- like megabass waterphones and crystal baschets -- that add real intimacy to the proceedings.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3 and 5)

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