Album Review: Malody by Barry Hyde

Most of us would probably admit to idle moments spent drifting off into the daydream of a non-stop whirl of decadence touring the world with your mates, playing every night to sold-out rooms full of people singing along to your every word. However, over the last couple of years, it feels like there’s been a bit more focus in the press on the darker side of life as a professional musician. Indeed, fairly recently we’ve seen several particularly important pieces of journalism which have pointed out just how destructive such a life can be.

Full Review >>

Barry Hyde spent the noughties basking in success. As frontman with acclaimed Wearside post-punk revivalists The Futureheads, he toured relentlessly, frequently cracked the UK Top 40 and enjoyed widespread critical recognition. Following his band’s fittingly-titled fourth LP, The Chaos, however, things began to unravel. Hyde was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011 and despite reconvening with his bandmates for 2012’s wholly acapella Rant, he suffered a protracted breakdown which led to his admission to Sunderland’s psychiatric hospital, Cherry Knowle.

Full Review >>

There’s a reason why we hadn’t heard of turn of the century new wave revivalists The Futureheads for so long. Frontman Barry Hyde began to see the first subtle signs of bipolar disorder right when the Sunderland band catapulted into the public consciousness, an illness that he’s been able to overcome even if it brought many a change. Hyde is now sailing through calmer waters, through before moving on he had to find some relief by documenting those experiences on his first solo effort, Malody.

Full Review >>