Richard Hawley, songwriter and former member of Britpop group the Longpigs, releases his eighth solo studio album, titled Further.

This will be the Sheffield native’s first record that is not named after a Sheffield local landmark, bringing a new step forward on the twentieth anniversary of his work as a solo artist.

The new album is filled with short and potent tunes, in which Hawley challenged himself to “get your message across like a bullet”. Still in keeping with his roots, the album was recorded primarily in Sheffield with co-producers Colin Elliot and Shez Sheriden.

Hawley crafted the album’s positive and optimistic tone as an antidote to the negativity and hatred so prevalent in our current moment: “we are bombarded by so much hateful stuff at the moment that I was determined to make something really loving”.