When Richard Hawley got his start as a solo artist, he had both Longpigs and Pulp to thank. The former for giving him some time to develop an instrumental style which benefits his voice and thoughts, the latter for a bit of studio space. Both bands rubbed off somewhat on Hawley, whose unique contemplation of life and all its wilder travels has always remained a welcome, grounded experience. Tendresses remains a fascinating piece from Longpigs, buried long enough to be overhauled and entertained once more. Such is the power of YouTube. Back it comes into the social consciousness and fawn we shall over an early days Richard Hawley performance which, paired with the rest of Longpigs, does well to settle the Sheffield legend into a sound which would serve him well.
Bold and brooding is a rare balance to get right but Tendresse manages it. Those days we stare into the abyss soon evolve into a years-long hangup. That much comes clear on a refined and stripped-back heartbreaker. The nonsense of leaving your mind to wander to the past, when the future is so clear, gives way to a riotous and impassioned Hawley vocal performance. Tendresse bases itself on the flaws we have as people. As those everyday charms come and go we are left to focus on the anguish and regrets, which for Hawley just will not do. He made a career of finding light in the harsh moments, the past used as a tool not for reflection but as a reminder of why being thankful for what we do not have is so important. This Longpigs deep cut gets to the core of this and, while it may as well be a Hawley project, does give incoming listeners an interesting entry point to the underrated Longpigs experience.
Certainly one of the better, earlier tracks from Hawley. Staggering in spots. Those first experiences with a booming Hawley vocal lead are magic. Tendresse is filled with the charm suggested by its title. Love and hope in the face of that ever-looming void, a sober comedown waiting to happen. But the second we give into that is the moment it becomes trickier to focus on what is going well. That staggering vocal performance from Hawley is the guiding light amid a swaying, gloomy set of instrumentals. Slick and simple guitar work paired with some frankly minimalist note choices, a steady rise and fall and the early entry of a slide and swing which would come to be a usual tool of Hawley’s discography.
Tendresse is more a Hawley song than it is a Longpigs B-Side. He was relegated there for a little while, working on a confident, fresh approach to what would become some of the finest songs around. Primitive Tendresse may be, but it is an absolute shocker in all the right ways. A championing of those days which do not define us, a way to expound them and exorcise their influence. Consistent lyrics are the key here. Kitchen sink dramatics turned into long-running, drifting horrors. These are real fears. But crucial to the balance is the tremendous love which pours from it. Open-armed and with nothing to prove, not yet, Hawley bridges the gap through darkness and comes out the other end with a telling, early writing credit.
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