Bill Ryder-Jones - A Leave Taking Soundtrack

I wouldn't have known it without it being included in the press release but Bill Ryder-Jones used to be a member of The Coral. He left after the groups fifth album 'Roots And Echoes' to pursue a deeper, more meaningful form of orchestral composition. This appears to be the first fruits of that labour of love and it's a deeply poignant musical exploration indeed. There's no denying that this is incredibly sad and overwhelming, beautiful songwriting that could see Ryder-Jones being taking very seriously as a neo-classical or perhaps soundtrack composer in the future. This sort of thing rarely appeals to me but it's definitely well put together with 'A Leave Taking' being a particularly effective take on that stark grand piano/strings led approach. Comparisons to Max Richter and the like are justifiable but I'd like to think that Bill's experience in writing pop music will aid him on his way and prevent him from disappearing up his own arsehole completely. Beautiful stuff.