Gruff Rhys unveils details of new album, ‘Sadness Sets Me Free’

Gruff Rhys has this week (September 3) unveiled details of a new album, Sadness Sets Me Free’.

The album was previewed with new track, ‘Celestial Candyfloss’, which you can listen to below. Speaking about the new track, Rhys said it is “an attempted pocket symphony about the cosmic lengths that people will travel in the pursuit of love and acceptance.

“Mark James has brought the Sadness Sets Me Free album cover to life & managed to place me watching TV interference in a shipping container that’s lost in space. For what is apparently the 25th album I’ve had a hand in writing I’ve reverted to a rich seam of inspiration relating to shedding some light on sadness and the general terror of cosmic loneliness.”

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He added: “At this point I quite like working with serendipity,” he says. “Not in a cosmic way, [but] I try and leave things open to chance encounters and chance geography. As I’m around 25 albums in I’m always looking for ways to make a different-sounding record”

The album will arrive on January 26 via Rough Trade Records and you can pre-order it here.

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Rhys’ band on the album include Osian Gwynedd (piano), Huw V Williams (double bass) and former Flaming Lips drummer turned Super Furry Animals archivist Kliph Scurlock (drums).

‘Sadness Sets Me Free’ Album Track Listing is: 

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‘Sadness Sets Me Free’
‘Bad Friend’

‘Celestial Candyfloss’
‘Silver Lining (lead balloons)’
‘On The Far Side of the Dollar’
‘They Sold My Home to Build a skyscraper’
‘Peace Signs’
‘Cover up the Cover up’
‘I Tended My Resignation’
‘I’ll Keep Singing’

Back in February, Rhys released his soundtrack album for the film The Almond And The Seahorse and shared its lead song, ‘Amen’.

Soloist Rhys, who is also known for performing in Super Furry Animals, recorded the soundtrack throughout 2021 and 2022. It features contributions from members of the National Orchestra of Wales.

It followed on from his 2021 album ‘Seeking New Gods’.