It’s hard to believe that 'Redesign' is Ryan McMullan’s first full studio album – but some things are worth waiting for. Initially planned for release a few years ago, Covid got in the way, but as my mumma used to say, good things come to those who wait.
Many years ago, in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, I first heard this young man sing a capella ‘The Lakes of Pontchartrain’ – and my jaw didn’t just drop – I dislocated my mandible. What a voice! Instantly, it was apparent he was destined for great things.
Fast forward a dozen years or less, and ‘Redesign’ was finally officially released to the world on All Saints Day, 2024.
Ryan McMullan has been touring, writing, performing for years now – the hard graft, perseverance and persistence required to build a following, supporting household names like Ed Sheeran and Snow Patrol. Songs like ‘Bowie on the Radio’ already feel like classics, having received regular airplay for some time.
There are several stand out tracks in ‘Redesign’ – but they are all just parts of the whole – it is the album in entirety that will serve him in perpetuity.
From the opening bars of ‘Us’ to the closing of ‘Never Mattered’, every one of the ten tunes just seem to link together as a whole loop. There’s something almost retro about ‘Redesign’ – reminiscent of ballads from some haloed golden age of music – a mix of fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties revisited and redesigned nostalgically for this hollow 21st century.
These are almost instantly memorable, sing-a-long, recognisable songs – they all have that quality. ‘Monarch’ is a beautiful tribute to the family matriarch, the one and only. It’s a delicate ballad – like so many songs on this album, it tells a story, a tale of unconditional love.
The title track ‘Redesign’ comes midway through the album, subtlety revealing the maturity that comes with dealing with the highs and lows that goes with the life of a performer and the need to self-protect.
‘Real Love’ features the beautiful vocals of Niamh Dunne and certainly could join ‘Us’ as a single.
‘Flailing’ is reflective, self-questioning, the mental efforts required to kick the darkness away. Naturally, ‘Episodes’ follows, how it feels when everything on the inside is at odds with outward appearances – finally, rounding off with ‘Never Mattered’.
Just a few days ago, at a concert called Blues and Ballads in Belfast’s Grand Opera House featuring legendary singer-songwriter Freddie White, and two blues legends (Paul Jones and Dave Kelly -supported by the Ulster Orchestra), I was loitering in the foyer when I heard familiar music fill that hallowed atrium. At first it was just ‘Us’, and then came ‘Static’ – followed by the rest of the album, filling the air as if it was always meant to be there, by-now familiar music that just belonged in that space and time. ‘Hold on,’ I thought to my wee self, ‘I know this album.’ It was indeed, Ryan McMullan’s ‘Redesign’ playing loud and proud for all to hear. A lovely tribute just days before the album’s release.
I have no doubt at all the ‘Redesign’ will do the business for Ryan McMullan and lift him on to another level – he deserves it.