Music
Richard Hawley, Barrowland, Glasgow
Nicola Love
Four stars
“We’re back.” Those two simple words are all it takes to drive the crowd wild as Richard Hawley takes to the stage, three years since his last appearance at the Barrowland.
Launching straight into Which Way, an intense track that neatly bridges the gap between the musician’s latest solo effort Hollow Meadows and 2012’s Mercury Prize-nominated Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Hawley’s smooth, trademark baritone immediately fills the room.
It’s one of several new tracks that receive an enthusiastic airing on this tour. Tuesday PM, a keys-led ballad introduced by Hawley as “the quietest and most miserable song I’ve ever written”, while Heart of Oak, a mellow, pop-heavy number is an album highlight that translates well live.
Delving into his back catalogue, Down in the Woods nods to Hawley’s riff-heavy, psychedelic sensibilities, with the live working of the track including a trippy rendition of nursery rhyme Row, Row, Row, Row, Your Boat. Ornate-sounding crowd favourite Open Up Your Door gets the biggest cheer of the night, so much so a deadpan Hawley eventually shushes the crowd.
However, when the former Longpigs guitarist finally stops to take a breath, his conversation feels stilted. He jokes about a taxi driver who compared Glasgow to Las Vegas – “They’re the only two cities where you can exchange sex for chips” – however a cursory internet search suggests he’s told the same gag in at least three times this month.
The set is brief, clocking in at just 90 minutes - however, as the last notes of triumphant-sounding encore track The Ocean come crashing down, no one seems to feel to short-changed. Even if Hawley’s onstage banter is a little stale, his songwriting is anything but.
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