Part of the history to Coles Corner does not even involve the man behind the record. Snubbed of a Mercury award to a debuting Arctic Monkeys, there Richard Hawley sat as Jools Holland was shifted to the side of the stage. “Someone call 999, Richard Hawley’s been robbed,” Alex Turner said. That he had – though the surprise turning point for the long-serving Sheffield musician received a neat boost afterwards. Rightly so – Coles Corner holds up as a beacon of absolute perfection decades on from its release. Locked into the Sheffield culture and loving it all along the way – Coles Corner shoulders itself into the debate for the finest Hawley album available. It certainly starts strong, injecting the Sheffield area with strings and a swirling tenderness which remains throughout.
Hold back the night, as Hawley requests. Never quite let the darkness slip in and steady yourself for the yawning days. Tranquillity may not be the aim of these lounge pop-adjacent efforts but listen to Coles Corner enough and it certainly has such an effect. Pangs of isolation and suffering flow through this. Dig deeper than those strings and subtle romanticism of the voice – here is heartbreak and reformation of expectation. Therein lies anticipation, seen on the album cover with Hawley clutching roses, expectant of someone who, by the sounds of this record, never showed. Instead, a traipse through the town where voices fill the air comes through – this understandable desire to fill the silence with sound when someone no shows. Coles Corner has arguably the greatest stretch of songs to an A-Side seen. Not just from Hawley, in general.
Just Like the Rain continues the hopeless search and brings in those effective crooner tones Hawley takes on these earlier records. He departed briefly on Lowedges but brings out those isolated thumps of heavy guitar strings on Hotel Room, a continuation of the story bleeding slowly and softly throughout. Dark horse track The Ocean, a real case for his best-written work, closes out this string of perfection. Flip it over and blast on through Born Under a Bad Sign – another all-time great for Hawley and his structured, melancholic work here. Those thick tremors which come through the bass guitar work are extraordinary. Significant and constant spectacle is the result here, of a musician so full of belief in his material. Rightly so. Listen in to those golden riffs and loving instrumentals, and take stock of those perfect lyrics. Coles Corner is a rare and real treat.
Perfect to engage with fully and holding a sober mind – but equally treasured when softening up the night ahead. Those almost endless evenings where the work is piling up and time is running out. A perplexing layer of control comes from Coles Corner, a Hawley masterclass in every sense of the word. World-beating tracks come and go with swift complexities and simple treats for the ears in equal measure. Double bill Tonight and (Wading Through) The Waters Of My Life are an intense pairing, and with preceding country flickers on I Sleep Alone, there is clear evidence Hawley is keen to try his hand at whatever he can. Though he may find his footing and settle in comfortably to Coles Corner, exciting changes of pace are just around the corner – that much is always guaranteed with Hawley, who takes these guitar pieces and lyrical longings to a new level untouched by anyone since.
