Take Me Through This Light Till the Dawning

Tomorrow happens to be a big release day for the faithful at The Ideological Cuddle. One of our favorite artists drops his latest masterpiece on the masses in a few short hours (the release date was today for those lucky enough to live in the UK).
Richard Hawley isn't nearly a household name in the US, but has a huge following in the UK. His new album, Truelove's Gutter is out via Mute Records tomorrow. It promises to be more of the same from one of music's true throwbacks. Hawley's solo work feels, somehow, timeless. His style falls somewhere between the work of the great Roy Orbison with hints of rockabilly and classic balladry (and he sports a vintage 50's greaser haircut). Never afraid to show is virtuoso guitar chops, Hawley tends to write from a lovelorn perspective (a la Billy Bragg), but his music drips of melancholia. His themes tend to be colored by his less-than-upper class upbringing in Sheffield. His last two albums, Cole's Corner and Lady's Bridge took their titles from actual locations in his hometown. Each is a masterpiece. Those who dig a little deeper should be able to find Lowledges, his second full length. His self-titled debut LP is much harder to find, and, I believe, is out of print. Used copies tend to fetch upwards of $30, but the actual MP3s may be available at sites such as Lala.com.
Unfortunately, I don't have any live tracks from Mr. Hawley to share, but the links below will lead you to his Myspace page, a site that has a live concert for sale (fully licensed by the artist, of course), and his homepage (which has been recently updated). Despite missing him when he came to Toronto in 2007, I won't miss my chance to see Hawley live in concert again (that is, of course, if he hits these parts again anytime soon).
Until next time, be well, and check out Richard Hawley.

Richard Hawley's Myspace page can be found here.
Richard Hawley's homepage is here.
A live concert by Richard Hawley from December, 2008 is available here.
Truelove's Gutter is out tomorrow via Mute Records and should be available at all music outlets with a brain and a sense of good music.