ALBUM REVIEW: When You’re Alone, How Does It Feel? – Rory Ryan

Irish singer-songwriter (and producer) RORY RYAN has just released his debut album When You’re Alone, How Does It Feel?. Ryan, who resides in Galway, has always enjoyed the outside and nature in the nearby countryside, usually taking walks where he would listen to his demos. For him, nature is heavily associated with his music and he would describe the album in three words: blue, green and distorted.

When listening to the record, there’s a sort of haze surrounding the sounds that feels nostalgic, yet also dreamlike and cinematic, like you’re in your own film where a song narrates a certain part of your story. That feeling is clear from opening track, Long Gone, which starts out with piano before the synths and acoustic guitar come in – you can’t help but visualise yourself walking down the side of a river as you star in a Studio Ghibli film. Musically, the sounds one hears could also be compared to M83 with the track’s psychedelic elements, pop melodies and that feeling in that you’re in some otherworldly state.

As you listen to each song, you find that lyrics can speak to you in different ways, whether you have a shared experience with the story told or can understand where they’re coming from. Whether it’s the moody pondering in Together, where one wonders how life might have ended up if you had made different decisions; the happy yet confused feelings in Contently Miserable; the reggae-influenced In The Past, that feels almost dreamlike; or its sibling song In The Future that offers a stark contrast with dark synths that convey a reflection of doubts – every track focuses on a different emotion beautifully.

Outside of the lyrics and the general mood conveyed, there’s a lot to be praised when it comes to Ryan’s use of synths. Whether it goes down a darker path, like in If I Ever Feel Like Coming Back, or into something upbeat and happy, like in How I’ve Come Undone, you find yourself transported and seeing everything from his perspective.

In a way, it’s difficult to compare what Ryan has done here to anything else. On the one hand you could look at artists that use synths and sound effects to convey a mood, and on the other you could look at other singer-songwriters who share personal stories, yet there are few who have combined the two different worlds we see here. All that’s left to say is that this is a beautiful alternative album that perfectly conveys the different emotions and states of life.

Rating: 8/10

When You’re Alone, How Does It Feel? is out now via self-release.

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