British freak folk hero Richard Dawson makes music that often appears to have a strongly improvisational slant, yet a careful look at his work makes clear there's a grand design behind it all. His fans might not have known going in that he was wrapping up a thematic trilogy with 2022's The Ruby Cord, but a glimpse at the themes of previous albums reveals that 2017's Peasant was concerned with the past and 2019's 2020 was set in a very troubled present. With this in mind, it makes sense that The Ruby Cord finds Dawson pondering the future and not feeling especially confident about it. While the narrative lines of the songs lean to the abstract, he has said the album's seven songs are set in a future time where society has fallen apart and humans exist in a state of augmented reality. This might not all be immediately obvious without studying the lyric sheet, but even by Dawson's somewhat dour standards, The Ruby Cord feels dark, an epistle from a blighted wrinkle in time, urging us to turn back. The Ruby Cord is also an especially ambitious effort for him; the opening track, "The Hermit," is an album in itself, running over 40 minutes, while the rest of the record nearly doubles that figure. "The Hermit" demands a certain patience from its listeners, as Dawson and his accompanists quietly explore the musical landscape in a manner that recalls the Dirty Three through most of its running time, but the superb embrace of dynamics and the interplay between his guitar and the instruments and massed voices around him build into something strikingly beautiful. Elsewhere, the melodic angles of "The Tip of an Arrow" slowly but surely expand into a climax that makes canny use of his hard rock influences; "The Fool" walks an intriguing tightrope between British folk and prog rock; and the melodic strength, cinematic arrangements, and simple but confident musicianship of "Horse and Rider" closes the program on a note that feels like something close to hope. The precarious qualities of Dawson's early work make it easy to focus on his eccentric sonic world view and creative shapeshifting, but his recordings from 2014 onward make it clear he's maturing into an instrumentalist and composer with unique and powerful gifts. Listeners willing to approach The Ruby Cord on its own terms will be treated to a remarkable, thoughtful, and emotionally literate cycle of songs that ranks with his most rewarding work. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

1		The Hermit
2		Thicker Than Water
3		The Fool
4		Museum
5		The Tip of an Arrow
6		No-one
7		Horse and Rider

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