Woeful weather plays a frequent part in Richard Hawley’s discography. Just Like the Rain embodies the Sheffield legend more as time goes by. He is returning to the real roots of the city, the love and embrace of an industrial powerhouse which has provided the world with more than a handful of fine artists. Tucked up indoors and waiting for the lashing of wet weather to pass is a comfortable experience when soundtracked by the greats. Hawley and his latest, Heavy Rain, lifted from upcoming album In This City They Call You Love, is a neat way to pass the time. It has all the hallmarks of a Hawley classic and pivots away from the clang and clatter of lead single Two for His Heels.
A heartwarming change of pace for Hawley who works up the acoustic beauties once more in a tone not too dissimilar to The Sea Calls. Hawley aims for the heart and does well to get there with a striking and effortlessly moving piece which recalls the burden of the mind and the end of the world. Where our thoughts would head in the final days of earth gives Heavy Rain a chance to head for warmth once more, a reassuring pang of familiarity. Cool strings, a repetition of the title and sliding guitar work from Shez Sheridan provide a beautiful backdrop to a Hawley song which will no doubt delight fans of his calmer approaches. Those have become rarities in the last few albums and In This City They Call You Love makes time for the tender relationships and their guiding light.
Repetition of dreams could not make it clearer and does lend itself to a looser lyrical structure, but it precedes a gut punch of blinding love and a heart which has a mind of its own. Acoustic guitar fills the void and Hawley provides an unchanging tempo, a consistent fire he kindles despite the downpour. How neat it is to drop a new track implying the warm flourishes of rain when in the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is a dismal day. He has an eye for the future, Hawley does. Certainly so on Heavy Rain, the thoughts of the heart replace the activity of the brain as they so frequently do. It has the sharpness and intimacy of his best works, the rising guitar a match for the string sections which will no doubt recall the harshest storms of your love life.
Heavy Rain holds firm then, a true shot of quality from the Sheffield legend. Ebbs and flows of sinister-like guitar work on Two For His Heels countered by liberation of emotionally charged choices. Hawley is not “back to what he does best,” or anything of the sort. He is growing stronger with this blur of heady rock influences and the crooner period which defined him. Blurring this together is a challenge but Heavy Rain and Two For His Heels feel a better match than first expected. Songs which grow over time, neat stock for the upcoming tour. Heavy Rain will linger as a pleasant surprise which manages to mask the direction of In This City They Call You Love.
