In 2008, Bill Ryder-Jones shrank The Coral into a quintet in order to devote himself to his solo work after five records together. It was a real surprise that his debut, “If…” (2011), an instrumental conceptual work inspired by Syd Barrett and Nick Cave, recorded largely with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, was a real surprise. This was followed by a minimal folk excursion and two alternative folk rock albums.
The Brit worked on “Iechyd Da” (Welsh for “For the Good!”) for half a decade; it has become his most versatile, ambitious record: dignified strings, samples from Brazilian singer Gal Costa, it is quoted from “Ulysses”, and himself If you could sway (wonderful: “It’s Today Again”), it would remain festive. Ryder-Jones sometimes sounds like Stephen Malkmus in his prime Pavement days, and any Eels cover band would immediately sign him up as a singer. The 13 songs are more voluptuous, more melancholic, occasionally more megalomaniacal (“This Can’t Go On”), but at the same time more intimate than ever before.