RØRY
Bloodletting
SADCØRE RECORDS
Emotions are messy things, and working on them isn’t a science. Simply because you have recognition doesn’t solve anything. You still have to deal. This is how the themes within ‘Bloodletting’ play out. Anger is at the core of this wildly beautiful album, but grief and self-reclamation orbit it like satellite moons. For anyone experiencing or who has experienced life extremes, and that’s pretty much all of us, there will be places here that will be recognised instantly, and those places will say you are seen. The music is structured to tell the story rather than conforming to simple formats, so even before you hear the lyrics, the instruments themselves take on an empathic dimension. There’s a leaning towards the heavier part of the spectrum too, emphasising the weight of the content dealt with. Then we have RØRY’s magnificently haunting vocal. Not many singers have the ability to be naturally memorable and utterly unique like this. The portrayal of both vulnerability and also strength is quite remarkable. The closest comparison is the late, truly great Dolores O’Riordan. ‘Hometown’ in particular is a real tear-jerker, while spoken word interludes give extra meaning. This is a thoroughly fresh-feeling record seamlessly incorporating a heady mix of genres. Not only is it important for opening up topics we often suppress, but it is also musically sublime and really gets you in the feels. Because of how it engages at such a human level, you can imagine it making multiple album of the year lists.
https://www.facebook.com/its.R.0.R.Y
Review by Gary Trueman