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Given Bruce Soord’s role as founder and bandleader of The Pineapple Thief, the news that he was making a solo record raised eyebrows aplenty in 2015. TPT was his baby, and he’d recorded their three earliest releases by himself anyway.
He made the self-titled album to fill a gap in Kscope’s schedule. It’s testament to the quality of the music that, despite his band’s ongoing success, he’s subsequently released two more studio records and a live album of solo material.
Available on vinyl for the first time in a pearl blue pressing and with a half-speed remastering at Abbey Road, this 10th-anniversary edition offers a great opportunity to become acquainted or reacquainted with the music.
The sound is sparser and airier than The Pineapple Thief’s prog-meets-alt rock aesthetic. Soord has always displayed a proclivity for introspection in his lyrics, and the subdued vibe of the music provides the ideal backdrop for burrowing deep into his emotions and thoughts.
It begins with Black Smoke and a lonely, mournful piano ostinato, over which he sings about his home town of Yeovil and a yearning for connection, establishing his central themes of place, time and reflection.
His lyrics touch on dreams left unfulfilled and the passing of youth and time bringing more regrets than wisdom
The understated washes of guitar on Buried Here suggest 90s-era Radiohead, a sense reinforced by the high register of Soord’s voice, while the subtle build in intensity is elegantly executed. There’s more of Thom Yorke’s signature ennui in A Thousand Daggers – but Soord throws in some unexpected twists and turns.
The Odds adds a hint of funkiness, with a slinky solo cut in; and although Willow Tree begins in a downbeat, inward-looking mood, it changes shape with the introduction of horn lines and a cajón, adding a Spanish flamenco flavour.
Born In Delusion finds Soord at his most downbeat, singing about being ‘crushed in a home full of love.’ His lyrics frequently touch on themes of life’s disappointments, dreams left unfulfilled, and the passing of youth and time bringing more regrets than wisdom.
All of that raises the question: is this a feel-bad experience, with Soord wallowing in a mire of misery? While the songwriting favours minor keys and the style is sombre, there’s something freeing about giving voice to these feelings – only by articulating them can they be released.
It’s a shame there are no bonus tracks on the reissue, but the album serves as reminder that there are sides of his creativity that don’t fit under The Pineapple Thief’s umbrella but they deserve – no, demand – an outlet.
Bruce Soord is on sale now via Kscope.
