Richard Hawley--Truelove's Gutter: An Aural Delight for the Sad Bastard in All of Us

In spite of or maybe due to sounding not of this time, Richard Hawley is one of my favorite music makers of the twenty-first century. So blinding is my love for him, I don't even mind that he rarely experiments with his grand sound from release to release. Yes, his last album, Lady's Bridge, favored rockabilly a bit more than its croony and brutally underappreciated predecessor, Coles Corner, but this progression was hardly a dramatic one. What's more, Lady's Bridge was somewhat dull in places, not as consistently moving as past Hawley affairs, which bloom in loneliness and longing.

The loneliness and longing is out in full force on Truelove's Gutter, but compared to other Hawley albums, this one is a whole other beast entire. Doubters should skip to the 4:05 mark of "Soldier On," and brace themselves for the most rockin' blast of sound to appear on a Richard Hawley album thus far. The moment is as fleeting as the storm referred to in the song's lyrics, but exhilarating all the same. Elsewhere, washes of ambient tones back Hawley's stately vocals, as do unique instruments such as the cristal baschet. However, rather than distressing the listener with strangeness, Truelove's Gutter unsettles with its beauty. The lyrical triteness of tracks such as "Open Up Your Door" ("love is hard to find/ and even harder to define") is elevated by the music's mood and Hawley's croony demeanor; thus, those trite lyrics eventually explode in the musical equivalent to the sun rising on a day rich with promise and hope. On the other side of the coin, album closer "Don't You Cry" showcases Hawley at his most mournful; his voice staggers to the end of each line as if to wring the optimal amount of sorrow out of each plaint.

Truelover's Gutter real tragedy, however, is that it will probably get snubbed when the time comes to dole out year end accolades; a select few--those who love a challenge, or have faith that gloom provides endless innovation in art--may be the only ones who notice its glaring omission. This is the precise reason why we all need to find a sad old bastard, be they stranger or best friend or even lover, and tell them to listen to this album, because surely there will be no other release quite so brilliantly sorrowful this year.

DO IT.

Level of Disappointment: 2 ; a few of the songs drag just a tad too much, but really, its faults are microscopic.

To Watch: For Your Lover Give, Some Time official video (what we must--gladly--bide our time with until Scott Walker releases something else.)