Do you want to die, or do you want to live?
This simple question lies at the heart of BLOODLETTING, the phenomenal sophomore album from critically acclaimed alternative breakout star, RØRY. Marking the album with interludes at the beginning, middle, and end, RØRY takes listeners through her mind as she confronts what she describes as “emotions that felt dangerous.” On the first track, RØRY asks the simple question above, claiming that “to live, you must allow yourself to feel everything you have kept inside.” Subsequent tracks handle anger, rage, jealousy, revenge, and even hatred, as she gives fans the sonically heaviest and most expansive music of her career.
Her 2022 breakout EP, Good Die Young, introduced RØRY as an alternative rock artist, as did the following EP, Family Drama, and her debut album, RESTORATION, all earning her several Heavy Music Awards. But on BLOODLETTING, RØRY pushes herself beyond those confines, working with longtime collaborators Kingdoms, while introducing fans to new production and mixing from Dan Lancaster (Bring Me The Horizon, Muse). The album’s sound and songwriting shine a light on how she has evolved as an artist, even showcasing screams for the first time. RØRY recounts how she began taking vocal lessons and learned to scream in her music, discovering a new language capable of expressing emotions that clean vocals could never fully convey.
I realised I was sick from being nice. I’d spent so much of my life being the bigger person, forgiving people, understanding people, making excuses for people. I’d become disconnected from huge parts of myself. BLOODLETTING was about reclaiming them.” – RØRY
While her prior music does feature themes of sadness, BLOODLETTING addresses suppressed emotions she claims she has spent a lifetime avoiding. But exploring those emotions led her to answer the first song’s question in the final interlude – the track features various voices chronicling why they initially wanted to die but how they chose to live – detailing how they’d “found something worth fighting for” or don’t want their abuser to write the end of their story.
Following a sold-out album release party at Rough Trade in Nottingham, RØRY confessed on Instagram:
I thought this album was about death. But last night, meeting you all, I realized I was wrong. It’s about staying alive. It’s about loving the people who are still here. About grieving the people who aren’t. It’s about the magic of music. About the magic of being here. Thank you for taking a very difficult time in my life and turning it into something beautiful.”
Fan reception proves that BLOODLETTING is more than just an album – it’s an outlet for those who feel alone.
You can catch RØRY at the remaining dates for in-store signings and acoustic performances:
- September 12 – Wax and Beans in Bury
- September 13 – Rough Trade in Bristol
- September 14 – Vinilo in Southampton
- September 15 – Banquet in Kingston
- September 16 – Beyond Vinyl in Newcastle
- September 17 – Assai in Edinburgh
RØRY will also be on tour for BLOODLETTING throughout the UK and Germany with Delilah Bon and Mothica beginning in 2027.
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