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BEST OF 2015

MAGNET’s #16 Album Of 2015: Richard Hawley’s “Hollow Meadows”

RichardHawley

I’ve spent a lot of time in the U.K. over the years, but I’ve never been to Sheffield. Having also spent a lot of time with Richard Hawley’s eight solo records, maybe I don’t need to—they’re all named after places in and around those environs, and Hollow Meadows doesn’t deviate from this trend, taking its title from Auley Meadows, where his ancestors supposedly resided between the 14th and 17th centuries. What I do know of the place is its righteous antiquity—home of the world’s oldest soccer club (Sheffield F.C.), the birthplace of stainless steel. So, it’s hardly surprising that what we hear traces its roots to the ’50s-inspired hepcat rockabilly and classic BBC twilight pop we’ve come to expect from Hawley—vaguely melancholy martinis ‘n’ memories machines, rich with tremolo, melody and moodiness (“I Still Want You,” “Serenade Of Blue,” “Nothing Like A Friend”) even as they opine on age-old themes of busted romance, disappointments and The One That Got Away. I don’t know of anyone else who traffics in this kind of ancient and justified songcraft—tunes that remind you of a different, less complicated time, back before mobile phones ruled our every waking hour, when you could obsess over a piece of black vinyl spinning ’round for days or even weeks on end. —Corey duBrowa