Blood Wizard – announces new album ‘Grinning William’ out October 25th / shares new single

Blood Wizard today announces a new album: Grinning William will be released on October 25th via Sad Club Records. Alongside the album announce, Blood Wizard also today shares punchy new single Devil Dressed In Disguise. Blood Wizard is the project of Cai Burns, a songwriter who has, over the last couple of years, built a reputation as one of the UK underground’s most underrated ears when it comes to arresting hooks and pop smarts. Blood Wizard’s debut album Western Spaghettireleased in 2021, wonaccolades from those in-the-know – with Huw Stephens at BBC 6Music offering particularly effusive praise. New material was teased last month in the shape of babytooth – a single drawing praise from DorkDIYSo YoungThe Line Of Best Fit and Emily Pilbeam at BBC 6Music. Blood Wizard will embark on a headline tour later this year, with the run culminating at The Lexington, London, on December 6th. 

On the new single, Blood Wizard says: 

Devil Dressed In Disguise’ was the final track I wrote for the new album ‘Grinning William’. Musically, it’s very straight to the point and the lyrics have a kind of dark paranoid humour. At the time of writing, I was thinking a lot about change, how people drift apart and most specifically, how moving away from home would affect me as a person and my relationships with the people I was close to, and the lyrics reflect those fears

On Grinning William Blood Wizard pulls the listener through a prism that refracts differently from his previous releases – the more alt-folk leanings of his debut have been largely ushered out in lieu of slung low, beefier guitars that at times tighten up into taut new wave urgency and at others allow themselves to fully embrace the drop tuned sludge. Alex G remains an influence, and Burns also notes taking cues from the playfulness of Cate le Bon and Aldous Harding, as well as the raw, direct vocal production of Dean Blunt. However, he’s more than capable of plotting his own path, adept at packing in a bustling array of ideas into efficient three-minute pop songs. 

Grinning William arrives three years after Burn’s critically acclaimed debut and on the surface it perhaps feels like Blood Wizard has emerged, retreated and returned in abrupt fashion. However, the truth is that the wheels have never stopped turning for the artist.   

1. Sciencefiction
2. Grinning William
3. Apples + Oranges
4. Devil Dressed In Disguise
5. BIG FISH
6. babytooth
7. Back2bed
8. Indecision
9. Sinister Star
10. Higher Energy! 

As on Western Spaghetti, Burns tackles his new LP with a full band, but affords Faye Robinson on vocals and keyboard, Tom Towle on second guitar, Ben Davis on bass and Adrian Cook on drums more collaborative input than ever before. Recorded with producer Theo Verney, the band went into Echo Zoo Studios with tracks rehearsed but not so tightly that there wasn’t ample room for further additions and edits – and the open-ended nature of the project led to frequent unexpected creative turns. Songs became much heavier than their demo form as guitars were layered up and – with just three initial studio days booked – tracks were run through once, altered sometimes drastically and then recorded in one take.

Grinning William is a confident step forward in Burns progression as a songwriter, an addition to a Blood Wizard oeuvre that already for those in know has cemented him as an artist unafraid to look outwards for influence yet singular in his vision. Time will tell whether it’ll push him over the precipice of the underground but, for those who discover it, Grinning William is a record to return to time and time again.


Photo credit / Jackson Bowley

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