If you’re familiar with VerseChorusVerse, you’re probably aware that the Northern Irish musician is as far removed from his work with And So I Watch You From Afar as is audibly possible. Four albums into his solo career, it sounds like Tony Wright is not too concerned about proving himself. Instead, the guitarist’s latest offering is a cathartic outpouring of creativity.
Written and self-recorded during lockdown in the wake of two friends’ tragic deaths – when Wright had all but given up on a musical career – there is much to like about this collection, not least its charmingly haphazard style. Although the overarching theme is one of vulnerability and positivity in the face of darkness, Wright throws caution to the wind in terms of cohesion.
Algrorithm & Blues takes in industrial pop via a 1980s Ultravox-style filter; the title track pulls from woozy, dreamlike shoegaze, and the metallic chug of guitar on Free to Decree – a manifesto regarding equality – echoes arm-waving stadium rock. Elsewhere, the piano-led I Live with a Monster acknowledges crippling anxiety and self-doubt, but standout track Rock &/Or Roll Recovery bristles with a punky rawness before the toe-tappy Squeeze-style earworm pop of Be Proud.
As an album, What If We Won somewhat lacks focus and precision. Still, as always, it’s clear that Wright’s heart is in the right place.
