“I’m not saying I’m not a careerist,” Invoice Ryder-Jones instructed NME in 2019. “The place I’m now could be good; a bit of extra success could be nice however any greater than that may be an excessive amount of.”
At the moment, the Wirral singer-songwriter (and co-founder of his former band the Coral) was speaking up ‘Yawny Yawn’, a skeletal, piano-led transforming of ‘Yawn’, the grunge-inspired assortment he’d launched the earlier yr. For Ryder-Jones, ‘speaking up’ meant talking with beautiful honesty that mirrored the nakedness of the songs themselves. It’s an method that’s endeared him to a military of loyal followers, whereas maybe additionally contributing to the truth that his cult fame has by no means fairly turn out to be widespread renown.
Possibly that’s about to alter. Bold, cinematic and vastly affecting, folky follow-up ‘Iechyd Da’ is in some ways the album Ryder-Jones has threatened to make since 2013 breakthrough ‘A Dangerous Wind Blows in my Coronary heart’. His solo work has nearly all the time been deeply private, which is definitely true of this new self-produced document: ‘iechyd da’ is a Welsh toast to ‘good well being’ and the album is partly named for his familial roots within the nation. Its songs echo with references to his previous tunes, its acoustic aesthetic is about to ‘wistful’ and the lyrics discover him baring all with obvious fearlessness.
There’s some irony in that final level, on condition that tracks comparable to ‘Fortunately for Anthony’ and ‘It’s As we speak Once more’ relay his scary psychological well being struggles. The previous, although – a sequel to his 2013 monitor ‘Anthony & Owen’ – celebrates its titular character’s kindness and the latter contains a ragged kids’s choir whose evident lust for all times is infectious. Standout ‘If Tomorrow Begins With out Me’, in the meantime, sums up the battered optimism on the coronary heart of ‘Iechyd Da’. Underpinned by muted strings and a heat, rolling organ chorus, it’s directly melancholic and uplifting; a windswept relation of Belle and Sebastian’s ‘The Boy with the Arab Strap’. “If the monsters name you names, then I’m with you,” Ryder-Jones croaks. “I’ve had monsters play video games with me too.”
The youngsters crop up all through ‘Iechyd Da’, a joyous counterpoint to the album’s heavy themes, whereas the singer makes use of samples (see eerie opener ‘I Know That It’s Like This (Child)’, which borrows Brazilian singer Gal Costa’s ‘Child’) as an extra breath of contemporary air. He may not be the steeliest careerist, however the lad from the Wirral has clearly thrown every little thing at this masterful document.
Particulars
- Launch date: January 12, 2024
- Document label: Domino
