All of these great musicians start from somewhere, though few can say they started at their peak. Maintaining such lofty expectations for a decade to follow is a borderline impossible feat. Richard Hawley, the Sheffield-born guitarist of Longpigs and Pulp, pulls it out of the bag with his first proper record. Not only one of the finest projects Hawley has worked on, but one of the best records out there of any artist. This may be the peak of his powers, the incredible statement made here as an independent guitarist heads out with his own songs after a self-titled EP. There is an element of danger which comes with a dash of looking back and witnessing how far he has come. It adds an extra, pleasurable level to Late Night Final.
Flowing, breezy and easy-to-access acoustics are the real draw here. After decades of hearing his guitar work it is still clear to hear the influences, the folk-like references and crooner charms which are stripped away from time to time in the likes of Further and Standing at the Sky’s Edge. Take a glance at the likes of Something Is or the reference points of Baby You’re My Light and take a trip to Lady’s Bridge or Coles Corner afterwards – it is impossible not to hear it. Rainy stations and the iconography so well-matched with the acoustic flickers Hawley and company offer up time and time again makes for a hearty creation. Late Night Final is still a near-perfect record stuffed with the fundamentals of a great musician. Nothing can change that, the quality is still supremely obvious now as it was back then.
Baby You’re My Light is still a mark of tender perfection while the likes of Love of My Life showcase barely audible sounds are still a tricky development. Good luck to those with hearing as bad as caffeinated journalists, the tinnitus removing some of the perfection but leaving no real mark. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Flamenca stylings on The Nights Are Cold head off as soon as they are noticed and give room to Hawley who continues to toy with a fluctuating voice. He cannot put a foot wrong though, these moments of pushing the style and getting comfortable with a theme and image he would carry forth for a decade, seeing those early moments, is a treat. Those trickles of fading lyrics, “the only road I’d walk alone…” lend themselves nicely to a track which would feature a few years later on Lowedges.
Echoed remarks on Lonely Night still hit as peacefully as they do sorrowfully. Those tender moments of being alone in your office and whittling away the hours with some words on albums released twenty years ago are still a real treat. Hawley has made countless pieces which are still worth talking about still – regardless of anniversary or redistribution. Some albums transcend the need to wait for a date to work their way back into circulation. No special notions surround Late Night Final at time of writing, it is just a record which needs to be pored over, to be experienced as The Light at the End of the Tunnel (Was a Train Coming the Other Way) plays out one of the finest achievements in music history. It is wild to consider Hawley has two or three records arguably better than this slice of perfection.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
