Dermot Kennedy: Sonder review - polished, well-crafted fare but could have been riskier

The American writer John Koenig’s Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows began life as a Tumblr blog and became a real book at the start of this year. It’s a collection of made-up words for things that ought to have their own terms but don’t. “Sonder” is in it, meaning: “The realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.”

It’s apt that Irish musician Dermot Kennedy has taken the word for the title of his second album, because he’s another of those everyman singer-songwriters whose emotional but non-specific lyrics are designed to be applied to the lives of as many listeners as possible.

Anyone who thought it odd that Lewis Capaldi announced a new album last month, but won’t actually release it until May, should be kept happy in the meantime by this one. It also contains love, loss and assurances of better times ahead delivered in gruffly tearful tones, with a rooting in folk alongside the kind of tasteful electronic touches that place it firmly in the 2020s.

The single Something to Someone is his closest take on the album title. “Once upon a time I was something to someone,” he emotes over a thudding kick drum. Weren’t we all? He also found that he had successfully articulated the mood of the masses on the first song from this album to be released, Better Days. Written during the pandemic, it’s a strong hand on the shoulder reminding the listener that nothing lasts forever: “Your story’s gonna change, just wait for better days.”

Listening at home, it feels like Kennedy could have maintained his hit rate while also being a bit more daring in places. This is someone who has covered acts as diverse as Kanye West and Metallica, and sung with both Manchester rapper Bugzy Malone and Italian dance duo Meduza. There are no edges to be found here. The beats are polished, the digitised backing vocals impeccably crafted.

But as a mainstream product, of course the album does its job. It’s easy to imagine lines such as “One life is never long enough,” on One Life, being bellowed by vast crowds. Kennedy spent last summer playing outdoor spaces in Ireland, where he is a superstar, and will reach the O2 Arena in April. In private, you might feel some “altschmerz”, as Koenig puts it: “weariness with the same old issues.” It’s the communal experience that will lift these songs to a higher level.

Island