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May 3, 2012Despite the guitars crashing and howling around him, and the presence of a rather West End-sounding chorus of backing vocalists, he sounds exactly like Richard Hawley. The same, but different: a tough trick, pulled off in style.
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May 9, 2012By employing hard-rocking, sometimes spacey psychedelia (gloriously) to express the anger he feels as he watches the hard-won gains of history being damaged and destroyed in unsavory ways, Hawley creates an essential listen.
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May 8, 2012An unconventional masterpiece.
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May 15, 2012What Standing at the Sky's Edge loses in heartbreak it easily makes up for in depth, and Hawley has just given us something that is truly worth sinking into.
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May 9, 2012In Standing At The Sky's Edge Richard Hawley has forged his most fully realised and heartfelt collection of music to date. This requires your urgent attention.
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May 7, 2012A classy, well-made record.
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May 2, 2012The men are going to love it. But the women will still love Richard Hawley, too.
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May 14, 2012["Before" is] one of many standouts in a nine-song collection that engages body and mind throughout.
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May 2, 2012However you choose to describe it, or whatever your preconceptions of Hawley and his music, this is definitely an album you should bend a considered ear towards.
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May 7, 2012Another triumph.
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May 4, 2012Richard Hawley has upped his game considerably on his first album for Parlophone, leaving behind his urbane, rockabilly-tinged retro-nuevo style for a full-blooded immersion in ringing psychedelic rock. It's totally unexpected, and completely winning.
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May 2, 2012If some of the sound could be better defined, and the special effects shaken on with a slightly lighter hand, it would be more coherent and ultimately more impressive.
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May 4, 2012Hawley ditches his heavily orchestrated, Indie Orbison Of The North shtick in favour of a sound that's darker, ragged and riff-heavy. It works.
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Sep 4, 2012This may be the most uncharacteristic of his albums, but by venturing outside his comfort zone, Hawley has in turn made his best.
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Aug 22, 2012This is a full-on rock album offering horizon-burning electric guitar as its signature, with Hawley's band stretching out with him on a few tracks for fabulously psych-fried passages. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.117]
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MojoJul 18, 2012His craftsman's melodiousness and honest voice add balm and balance. [Jun 2012, p.84]
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Jun 8, 2012He's pushing himself ever so slightly, and while it might not be enough to draw in the unconverted, the rest of us will want to stick around for more.
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UncutMay 3, 2012Fans of Hawley's rueful view of love and relationships, his fine guitar playing, and his magnificent singing voice will find them all present and correct here, if displayed in unexpected ways. [Jun 2012, p.75]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 12 out of 15
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Mixed: 3 out of 15
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Negative: 0 out of 15
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May 16, 2012
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Nov 13, 2014
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Mar 1, 2013