Richard Hawley - Coles Corner

Like a well-made dry, vodka martini, Richard Hawley is refreshingly chilled. English-born, he seems to exemplify the class and sophistication of a James Bond character. The former guitarist of The Longpigs and for a few touring and recording stints Pulp, Hawley had been wary of the lead singer lime light, but three albums later not a trace of hesitance or fear can be heard in his silky vocals. Taking nods from the Vegas lounge croners of your father's age, Hawley breathes new life into a genre of stagnet smoke. Shaking up shots of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Roy Orbinson, and even Hank Williams, Coles Corner is a slick and fresh album. "Just Like The Rain" is a La's-esque rousing romp with shimmering guitars remaniscent of the most beautiful of spring days. "The Ocean" is an epic anthem whose expanding melodies are worthy of the vastness of its title. "Born Under a Bad Sign" sounds like a cheery lament ala Morrissey. And "Wading Through The Water" sounds like a whiskey-soaked AM radio ditty from a diffrent era. However, some songs suffer lyrically, "Hotel" is a meticulous recallection of a night with a smitten lover, and "Tonight" is a hodge podge of stream of concious lyrics with more than its fair share of repetition. Hawley can almost pull it off though with a sincere delivery and his flattering instrumentation, but sadly he only almost pulls it off. But even the best of martini's olives have their pits. [www.richardhawley.co.uk]