Bill Ryder-Jones was the talented ex-guitarist from The Coral who left the band after their brilliant 'Roots & Echoes' album. He arranged several of the most lovely tracks on that album such as 'Fireflies'.
IF... is his first solo album and you can see the continuation between the handful of songs he arranged on that album and this, though he naturally has more scope here.
The album is conceived as a soundtrack to an unmade film version of the novel if 'On A Winters Night A Traveller' by Italio Calvino.
The majority of the tracks are classical instrumentals. Not being particularly knowledgable about classical music I can only compare them to the work of film composer, but that seems more appropriate anyway.
Much of the album, and in particular the opening tracks 'If...' and 'The Reader', are reminiscent of modern film compositions by the likes of Clint Mansell (Black Swan, Moon) or Abel Korzeniowski (A Single Man). Spare string-led compositions.
Then the music moves through different phases and tones with every track, each one intended to represent a different chapter from the source novel.
'Leaning' is sounds like a piano led composition similar to the traditional folk influenced soundtracks by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for The Proposition and Jesse James. It's a mournful mix of piano, sad violin and accordion. Here Ryder-Jones sings, though barely audible. It segues seamlessly into the similarly arranged 'Church of Appolonia' where his vocals are replaced by those of an unnamed female vocalist and the sound of heavy rain. Theres a brief but beautiful acoustic Nick Drake inspired respite with 'Le Grand Disordre'.
The second half moves through further beautiful but uneasy classical pieces, some bolstered by more traditional rock instruments. There is a sense of rising tension until the album climaxes quietly with the sublime 'Some Absolute End', no doubt inspired by the novel's detective plot, and it's resolution.
It's an accomplished work for someone comparatively so young and whilst large portions are not a comfortable listen, it is very impressive. With IF... as his calling card I imagine it won't be long before we see Ryder-Jones name appearing on the opening credits at a cinema screen soon.
THE READER
LEANING
SOME ABSOLUTE END
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