Richard Hawley - Coles Corner

Genre rock Publisher Mute Records External Links Official Website Mute Records

Richard Hawley seemed likely to end up as a foonote in rock history. Member of brit-pop also-rans The Longpigs, erstwhile Pulp guitarist and sometime session man, Hawley has a history of being always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Which makes Coles Corner all the more of a joyful surprise.

Because, make no mistake about it, this is a classic album. Hawley constantly brings to mind some of the greatest of American songwriters; there are echoes of Jimmy Webb, Johnny Cash, even Lieber and Stoller. Pretty rarified company, but there are tracks on Coles Corner that have you checking the sleevenotes to make sure they're not some lost Glen Campbell song.

There's something so lost about Coles Corner. It's not just the oddness of a Sheffield sidekick in his Eric Morcambe glasses singing this windswept Americana. It's an album of hotel rooms, lost moments, loss and regret. The title track's a perfect example. We've heard these late-night drums, sweet strings and this laidback croon before, but usually in homage to Galveston or Wichita - not singing the praises of a Sheffield lovers' meeting place. Similarly when Hawley sing in "Tonight", "maybe I'll take the car up to the hills and watch the city lights below," it takes a minute to register that the "the hills" are the Pennines.

Half the fun is spotting the particular songwriter Hawley is channelling. "Darlin' wait for me" is "It's now or never"-era Elvis, "Wading through the waters of my time" would have been so perfect for Johnny Cash that Hawley tries a neat impersonation and "Born under a bad sign" shows that his stint backing Nancy Sinatra taught him a trick or two.

There's nary a wrong step on the whole album. Epics like "The Ocean" sit next to the ghostly country blues of "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Little Feet" and never once veer into pastiche. Until now Richard Hawley's been a perennial sidekick but this is the record to put him in the spotlight. He's got the voice, he's got the songs, all he needs now is the audience. Over to you.