Having purged his yen for squally guitars on Standing at the Sky's Edge (2012), Richard Hawley makes a return to the sumptuous, understated balladry that he does so exceedingly well. The Sheffield man is a contemporary musician with an old-time crooner's outlook and caramel-toned voice. The World Looks Down is a one-man protest on humanity's obsession with technology. His sense of melody and ambience excels on the soft sway of I Still Want You, the playful waltz of Sometimes I Feel and the rock-oriented Which Way, while it's easy to imagine the slide guitar-supplemented Long Time Down in Elvis's hands. Nitpickers may argue that it's not a huge departure for Hawley – but when it's this good, it doesn't need to be. richardhawley.co.uk

Download: I Still Want You, Long Time Down