25 albums and a few decades into his career, Gruff Rhys shows no signs of slowing down. The multi-faceted pop excentric who once led Super Furry Animals takes a nomadic approach to his music, developing a relationship with the world around him and putting those emotions into smooth melodies and superb production. For his latest trick, Rhys has crafted a return to form. Sadness Sets Me Free, Rhys’ newest creation, is the artist at his most pure. He is penning moving poetry and delivering these carefully crafted words via a colorful array of pop balladry. For 10 emotionally vulnerable tracks, Rhys strips his sound down to its fully-exposed self, simultaneously breaking down the mystique he has built for a more open and exposed songwriting.
The magic of Sadness Sets Me Free is in the sonic conflicts the artist builds in these songs. Soaring strings are juxtaposed with dusty grooves, and soulful up-tempo drum patterns are matched with some of the best crooning on the album. The blueprint for Rhys’ latest is seemingly nonexistent, rather the artist finds consistency in these varying tones by keeping the lo-fi warmth that drives this LP. Lyrically, Rhys has never sounded so honest. The topics explored on this album are not easy concepts to grapple with, allowing the most personal moments to be some of the brightest. These glittery tracks sit next to some of the dark, piano-driven tunes that swim around your head and pluck the amygdala to resurface emotions you thought you had left in the past.
Sadness Sets Me Free is one of those albums that is titled perfectly. Rhys explores the concept of feeling even the deepest sadness rather than feeling nothing at all. On the dusty title track that doubles as our introduction to the project, Rhys lays out the concept of the album beautifully. Gorgeous crooning delivers the hard truth that feeling any sort of negativity is better than a palpable emptiness. The artist can give us some bright breathers in the midst of delivering these scary truths. Moments like “Peace Sign” provide lush moments of reprieve from an emotionally driven LP. Rhys croons over a minimal yet lively arrangement for some pure off-kilter pop bliss.
A song like “Peace Sign” is followed by a dark track that calls for some change. “Cover Up The Cover Up” looks to expose large governing bodies and the corruption that trickles down and becomes the common man’s problem. These two tracks sitting next to each other sum up Sadness Sets Me Free perfectly. The consistency is in the concept, not the sonics. This allows the album to touch on so many tempos and moods for a whirlwind of balladry centered around Rhys’ views of the world around him.
Sadness Sets Me Free is an emotionally exhausting listen, in the best way possible. Gruff Rhys can craft moments that feel like diary entries, breaking the nomadic character we all know and love and stepping into the role of a poet looking to make sense of it all. While the inconsistent tempos and tones can create dips in the tracklist, traveling from one sonic realm to the next can sort of take you out of the stories being told. Still, Sadness Sets Me Free is a bold direction for Gruff Rhys to take 25 albums in, and for the most part, these risks paid off tremendously. Rhys finds solace in the exploration of himself rather than crafting the perfect LP, giving the album a unique personality that opts for honesty over anything else.
