Everything We’ll Never Need – Phil Hooley

On his latest album, 'Everything We’ll Never Need', Phil Hooley delivers an astute and logically driven musical experience

Everything We’ll Never Need

Phil Hooley

  • Americana

  1. Cowboy Dreaming
  2. House For Sale
  3. No Guarantee
  4. Time On My Hands
  5. Tomorrow
  6. One More For The Road
  7. Best Remedy
  8. Walking Man
  9. Hope Street
  10. 10. Sticky Toffee Pudding

Here is a voice deeply steeped in the Nashville school. Strong, resonant, rich and powerful – Phil Hooley’s third solo album gets straight to the point with Cowboy Dreaming.

Here’s ten self-penned songs demonstrating Hooley’s various influences – from old style C&W to blues, folk and soul. If the intention was to showcase Hooley’s variety of songwriting, then ‘Everything We’ll Never Need’ hits the mark.

Politically astute, the album’s centrepiece if you like is the blues influenced ‘Hope Street’ – his reaction to how people are presenting themselves on social media – the stark contract between illusion and reality, smoke and mirrors.

Phil Hooley’s distinctive vocals and guitar are supported by a host of top Nashville session players, including James Mitchell.

Influences include Dylan of course, Nick Lowe and Guy Clarke – but with Hooley’s own unique Northern English twist – not least in the closing track, in homage to everybody’s favourite – ‘Sticky Toffee Pudding’.

Phil Hooley said he’d been playing ‘Sticky Toffee Pudding’ at his live shows for a while. “It proved to be a cheery end to concerts after all the more serious stuff. Strangely it’s my most requested song, so I felt duty bound to put it out as a sort of bonus track at the end of my album.”

All good sticky fun.

Lyrically driven and always thought provoking, ‘Everything We’ll Never Need’ follows ‘Songs from the Back Room’ (2022) and ‘Provenance’ (2023), both previous albums receiving critical acclaim from the likes of Ralph McLean’s Country and  BBC Introducing.

Describing himself as ‘late to the party,’ Phil has built a strong live presence at various UK festivals, also opening for several artists and establishing himself on the American circuit.