Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley’s pedigree as a guitarist was never in doubt. A cursory glance at his CV reveals that Richard has ground his axe for the likes of Robbie Williams, Finlay Quaye and Perry Farrell. What is surprising, perhaps, is the richness of Hawley’s voice, pitched somewhere between Neil Hannon and Sean Miller.

His eponymous debut never outstays its welcome – seven songs weighing in at just over 22 minutes. But its quality is such that it inevitably leaves you wanting more gorgeously layered, achingly romantic balladry like the swoonsome ‘Bang To Rights’, the airy ‘Sunlight’ or the torch balladry of ‘Naked In Pitsmoor’. The real highlight, though, is the achingly bittersweet ‘Happy Families’ which finishes things off just about perfectly. Who said Setanta wouldn’t be back?