Imagine a song recorded by Morrissey, written by The Everly Brothers and produced by Roy Orbison, and that should provide some idea of what to expect from "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the lusciously arranged single from Richard Hawley's Lady's Bridge.
Departing from his work as a member of Longpigs and a session guitarist in Pulp, Hawley has crafted a distinct solo persona, complete with occasional nods to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. An elegant mid-tempo ballad, the song conjures images of a lamp-post-lined avenue, with Gene Kelly performing a soft-shoe at one end and Bogart and Bacall making out at the other.
But for those who fear that Hawley has softened with age, his songwriting remains relevant and poignant: "Those people, they got nothing in their souls / and they make our TVs blind us from our vision and our goals." In other words, it's not all hearts and rainbows in the glamorous world of "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," but as its romantic chorus swells, that's easy to forget.
Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'
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