Standing at the Sky's Edge

Richard Hawley's earlier albums, with their nocturnal strings and gently strummed guitars, suggested a mix of country crooner Jim Reeves, Scott Walker, and Tindersticks. With <i>Standing at the Sky's Edge</i>, he brings forth his inner Julian Cope. Psychedelic guitars, elliptical melodies, and ambitious rhythms coalesce into Hawley's trademark schematic of Shakespearean drama and dour certainty, yet there's an updated wall of sound that's halfway to shoegaze and deep on the Spiritualized and Stooges influences. The title track could be mistaken for a first-rate lost Julian Cope track from, say, <i>Peggy Suicide</i>. This album is a consistent joy, with guitars quoting The Stooges' "1969" on the exciting "Down in the Woods" before the song finds its own footing in outer space. "The Wood Collier's Grave" takes an ancient monument in Sheffield, England, and turns it into a manufactured legend via a space jam. "Don't Stare at the Sun" recalls the gentility of Hawley's previous work, while "Leave Your Body Behind You" detonates into a beautiful noise of keyboards and guitars jockeying for position. The album is close to perfect.