Album Review: Moondust for My Diamond by Hayden Thorpe

A certain romance has always been at the heart of Hayden Thorpe's singing, whether as a solo artist or as the principal vocalist with Wild Beasts, the beloved Kendal outfit who disbanded in 2017. Since then Thorpe's progress has been surefooted, releasing debut solo album Diviner in 2019, and as he moves on to album number two, Moondust For My Diamond, that romantic heart is still key to his approach - though there are signs of an ever-increasing maturity in his songwriting. Thorpe writes with great assurance, and has the confidence to use a 'less is more' approach to powerful effect.

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As usual, Thorpe's voice is awesome (meant in the original sense of the word) throughout the record. It rises and falls, pulses and roars, and races through hushed whispers into sultry croons - a testament to the man's ability to emote throughout his entire range. The change, without which would be no growth, comes in the form of the sonic palette that frames that golden voice.

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Moondust For My Diamond by Hayden Thorpe The new album by former Wild Beasts co-frontman Hayden Thorpe is a smooth, sensuous record that explores many of the sounds of his previous band's 2014 album Present Tense. While Thorpe's 2019 solo debut, Diviner, was primarily built around piano, Moondust For My Diamond brings synths and drum machines to the fore, luxuriating in its luscious synth-pop palette. As ever, Thorpe's voice is unashamedly intimate, breathy and purring, while his lyrics venture boldly into questions of the self and the other, the wonder of nature, and humankind's place in the universe.

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