In 2003, Damien Rice released O and I fell in love with it.
I am drawn to sad-bastard music, generally speaking. That happens to be Mr. Rice’s stock-in-trade. O was a beaut of an album; emotional singing, beautifully orchestrated music. Every now and again, a track from it will pop up in shuffle, and I’ll sigh with recognition.
Until recently, that sigh of recognition was usually followed by “I wonder what happened to that guy.” Rice’s follow up album, 9, didn’t hit me the same way his debut did. A lot of other music listeners felt the same way-it wasn’t nearly as successful. Rice virtually disappeared from the music scene following the campaign to support 9–which was released in 2006.
A lot can happen in eight years, but apparently Damien Rice is still a sad bastard. In a year that’s seen solid albums released by similar acts like David Gray and Ray LaMontagne, Rice is trying to work a hat trick with his upcoming album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy. It’ll be released in the States on November 14th (I’m preordering my copy right now) and is produced by Rick Rubin. Re-reading the album title, I’m wondering if it’s some sort of response or nod to Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
At any rate, here’s the first single, “I Don’t Want To Change You.” The song has an appealing Withers-like groove, and might be a grower. The video is a bit odd, but is very much in line with the forlorn feel of the song. Check it out below.