Band of the Day (10.27.09): RICHARD HAWLEY

Who?

The Sheffield singer-songwriter was a member of Longpigs and Pulp before going solo. He's since given us six stunning albums. His brand of chamber pop can come off as anything from seductive tenderness to sweet nostalgia; while most Hawley songs are romantically slow to mid-tempo, his fast numbers display the rockabilly influences of his youth. We're talking meticulously crafted melodies, high levels of intimacy, and a crooning baritone as velvety as they come.

And I care because?

- He's got some pretty awesome friends. Hawley has many champions in the music world, including Jarvis Cocker -- who was the one to urge him to go solo -- and Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, who, when his band won the 2006 Mercury Prize over Hawley, exclaimed "Someone call 999, Richard Hawley's been robbed!"

- He's even better live. Both Hawley's composition and voice pack plenty of wow factor into his records, but these elements are multiplied on stage, where the presence of his voice is chill-inducing. To top it all off, there's an effortlessly-flowing band performance and the fact that Hawley is one of the coolest and most charming frontmen today.

- His collaborations are to die for. Hawley has also done tremendous session work. His collaborations include R.E.M., the Arctic Monkeys, Nancy Sinatra, and Elbow. There was almost one with Morrissey's live band too, for which Hawley auditioned as a guitarist, but was rejected after he started singing Elvis Presley's "One Night."

Stream his beautiful new album below, watch the video for "For Your Lover Give Some Time,"and buy his new album, Truelove's Gutter.