Bill Ryder-Jones at Deaf Institute review

Image: Bill Ryder-Jones

Thanks to cup draws and involvement in Thursday evening football fixtures; Mancunians and Liverpudlians have been travelling between their respective cities with ever-increasing regularity recently.

Bill Ryder-Jones’ appearance at the Deaf Institute on the day the year’s first snow fell provided another excuse for a scouse road trip down the M62.

At the sold out show, the ex-Coral guitarist turned solo-artist displayed the confidence of a songwriter who’s certainly en route to the top of his game.

Ryder-Jones is joined by four band members for his performances. They displayed their capability to switch feeling and momentum throughout: from the raucous anthem 'Two To Birkenhead' off last year’s well-received West Kirby County Primary to the meandering 'Wild Swans' off 2013’s excellent A Bad Wind Blows in my Heart.

The chirpy slacker’s words are honest. There’s a frankness to his stories which can be painfully personal, all of which are channelled into introspective pop numbers.

In the breaks between songs however, sincerity goes out of the window. There’s chatter about misbehaving smoke machines, and repeated requests from the audience are idly dismissed with a cheeky murmur from behind his shaggy hair.

Prior to ‘Birkenhead, which is the best received moment of the night, the band leaves Ryder-Jones to perform three stripped-back songs alone: 'By Morning I', 'Christina' and 'Put it Down Before You Break It'.

The breathy lyrics of “You said call round at two, I’ll make us both a breakfast” in the latter, aren’t his most complex, but are indicative of his storytelling ability and how his true-to-life tales capture a realness of a life that’s been affected by stress-related health problems.

His song writing should be revered and treasured – there’s plenty of polished pop acts out there who make more effort to curate an image, yet who lack the authenticity of the the 32 year old who’s been in the music game for almost twenty years, co-founding his former band aged thirteen.

He’s not afraid of addressing tough emotions through his art. This is most apparent during the tragic and weary Daniel, which he dedicates to his late brother – the lyrics cover hard hitting family struggles, devastation and paints a heartbreaking picture of loss and grief.

Finally, after countless pleas from the audience, the longer-than-expected set was rounded off with the energetic 'Satellites' which ended the night tumultuously.  

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