If you think you know the extent of Harry Cleverdon’s talents, think again. He’s best known for releasing sweet, chilled out numbers that dance around the folk, pop, and country genres. They win me over time and time again, but if I could make any criticism, they’re pretty safe. So I was excited to discover a new side of Harry’s talent through his new project SonOfHarry. He’s just released his debut album The World Has Gone Mad under the moniker, and it’s the furthest thing from safe that you can imagine.
At a time when so many artists seem to be focused on creating singles, it’s refreshing to see Harry bring us a concept album here. It’s clear he’s spent some time listening to Pink Floyd in his youth. Their influence comes through in the sonic soundscapes he creates, the brief musical interludes and snippets of audio recordings that support the longer works like “Alien” and “Can Not Be This Way.” These tracks could stand alone, but they’re so much richer for their place here. Then there are the tracks like “Paradise Pt 1” and “Paradise Pt 2,” and the title track broken into three parts and woven through the EP, longer works that explore themes and musical motifs in more depth.
The World Has Gone Mad really shows a different side of Harry’s talent. It’s edgier, more experimental, and bolder. He plays with genres we haven’t seen before like blues, rock, and jazz. The lyrics are edgier than we’ve heard from Harry too. I’m not just talking about the occasional explicit lyric, although I can’t imagine those making the cuts Harry’s released before. But these songs also contain some really thought-provoking and potentially polarising social commentary.
If you’ve only heard and loved the music Harry’s released as Harry Cleverdon, it might take you a little while to embrace SonOfHarry. But give it that time. The World Has Gone Mad is very different from Harry Cleverdon’s usual material, but it’s also very good.
Images used with permission from Kick Push PR