Richard Hawley has a nice habit of naming all his solo albums after famous places in his hometown of Sheffield. He makes an exception for Hollow Meadows: it is an estate in the Peak District nature reserve, just outside Sheffield. According to Hawley, the name is derived from a Hawley family who lived there in the Middle Ages. Hollow Meadows is therefore not a quest for his personal roots. Hawley,
… as on the previous seven albums, remains above all a chronicler: someone who sings about the lives of the people around him. He does this with a dark brown crooner voice in 11 beautifully orchestrated songs at walking pace. A striking song is Which Way where Hawley's voice coincides nicely with a harpsichord. (PdK)more
