Richard Hawley – Hotel Room (Acoustic) Review

Stripped-back, acoustic renditions of Richard Hawley’s work are a natural success. It feels like the Longpigs member is entering cheat codes which brings him directly to the heart of his listeners. Outstanding work. Cole’s Corner celebrates twenty years standing, the building it’s named after no longer a beauty spot or cultural pillar. But the album is. Hawley continually captured the heart of Sheffield and, if his recent releases are anything to go by, he remains proud of that connection. Acoustic treatment for Hotel Room, a beautiful number from his third studio album, is a sign of that intimacy. For those who heard the acoustic variant of Tonight the Streets Are Ours, the fundamentals of a reduced instrumental and focus on Hawley’s voice will be well-known. It’s hard not to fall back in love with Hotel Room and the other acoustic renditions releasing as part of the anniversary rollout of one of the UK’s most defining, beautiful albums to date.  

Hawley must be delighted that he has captured an atmosphere with this song equivalent to hearing someone strumming away in a warm pub. That instrumental depth is powerful and not to be overlooked. Acoustic music can so quickly fade from memory if the guitar work is solely to support the words. Hawley is, thankfully, a strong enough writer that acoustic renditions of his work take on a dreamy quality. A floating charm which keeps hold of an appropriate amount of sentimentality. Not too much, though. Hawley is not getting soppy on us here. But what does come through is the striking, ongoing strength of his voice. Just how little that has changed over the years is a genuine treat for listeners old and new. In isolation, those guitar tones are the campfire tale sensitivity you would want from an acoustic style. Soft, stylish, and a little flourish of tenderness. It’s the classic Hawley formula, and that is not to be taken for granted. 

Those hyper specifics of Sheffield can be heard on Hotel Room without naming them. It’s nice to think of the intimate encounter taking place in some shoddy hotel room outside of the Steel City. A lover torn between the intimate now and his memories of home. It’s a touching side to a story which uses the city as a starting point for the flood of life’s varied emotions. Hotel Room is what you make of it, truly. A song which asks the listener and the lover to make the most of things, the hope to “make certain that it’s true,” is all down to the singer and, by extension, their audience. However you read into Hotel Room, the fundamentals of the song are unchanged. For those who have not listened to Cole’s Corner in some time, this acoustic version may sound just like the original.  

Head back into that time capsule classic, then. Its value stretches far beyond South Yorkshire. It’ll creep into every corner of the country, as In This City They Call You Love did. This is a call to arms for those leading a mild life. Do not settle for it. Meet the person who can pull you out of that state and keep hold. Hotel Room is a beautiful song with or without the acoustic bliss laid down by Hawley. A chilling song all the same with enough warmth to fight off the cold and bleak modern world. That is all we can ask of the great songwriters, and it is what Hawley has delivered frequently. He may have drifted from the crooner tone to rocker charms, but the honesty and truth in his words remain unchanged. It’s a wonderful constant of his sound and something which holds firm in his very best songs, like this one.