Bill Ryder-Jones – Iechyd Da review

Everyone lets light in by different means. Throughout more than a decade as a member of The Coral and in the longer time since, Bill Ryder-Jones has been honest to a fault about his need for coping strategies, both as recommended by counsellors and not. For Iechyd Da – Welsh for good health – music has become a source of therapy; “It were important for me to make a record that had more hope in it. Even by my standards the last few years have been rocky, but I’ve chosen to soundtrack it with more positive music, you know?”

This given, few could have been expecting sunshine and lollipops, but the Wirral stalwart’s fifth album is a coming of age for him, both as a songwriter and a producer. That familiar croak is still there, as warming as an old coat, but the additional flourishes – piano, strings, a choir – give tracks like the opener I Know That It’s Like This (Baby) a starry, battered charm that radiates through every note.

Happy also to experiment under his own name – closer Nos Da is an ambient drone whilst …And The Sea… features Michael Head reading Ulysses – Iechyd Da fixes what wasn’t broken, but in the good way Ryder-Jones set out to create. The undoubted pinnacle however is This Can’t Go On, a celestial ballad Wayne Coyne or Guy Garvey would be proud of. Navigating through showers and sunshine, it’s proof that a little happiness eventually comes to those who deserve it most.

You can read a full review here.