Last year a girl I was involved with called me a “sad boi” and I didn’t understand what she meant. First off, I’m a Nigga, not a “boi” secondly, I’m a pretty happy guy. Then she explained that I have too much fun being emotional. I denied it and then she told me “you cry watching wrestling”, so I think she had a point. I guess I’m a sad boi. I like sad boi movies like “Drive”, I like sad boi activities like getting tattoos and staring into the distance, and most importantly I like sad boi artists. My favorite sad boi is Raleigh Ritchie, aka Grey Worm from Game of Thrones. So with that said let’s get into his sophomore release “Andy”.
Man I’m so glad they didn’t kill this nigga in that awful season 8.
Raleigh Ritchie makes music for the people who look at their exes Instagram when they’re on their way to a date. It’s poppy but introverted, it’s like a faded black hoodie from Forever 21. This is the perfect album for all the people finally leaving the house after COVID. It’s a good distraction for that 2 weeks of freedom before we all have to go back inside. He made a happy album for people who hate happiness. The general theme of the album is “I’m sad that I have no real reason to be sad anymore” which is an interesting take. On one song he raps about how he planned his suicide and while he’s grateful for his life, a part of him wishes he went through with it. This is a very dark theme but the poppy nature of the album doesn’t allow that sentiment to resonate. It’s like having an anxiety attack on Sesame Street.
That brings me to my main issue with this album, tonally it doesn’t always work. Look I love Raleigh Ritchie, I think he’s great but he’s still early in his career and isn’t good at expressing complex emotions in song structure. You can say “I’m sad for complicated reasons” lyrically, but if the accompanying music doesn’t echo that, it doesn’t hit as hard. Some parts of this album feel like you’re watching someone cry in a moon bounce on their birthday; we need some more context. I don’t fully blame him for these issues though, he was on the most popular (and then most disappointing) show on TV for a good 5-6 years. A commitment like that definitely took up a lot of creative space so he probably had to get over past this (and Melisandre’s pointless death, seriously Dany has Dragons why did she negotiate AND FORGET THE IRON FLEET).
My secondary issue with this album is that, as poppy and easy listening as it is, I don’t think it’ll get the spins it deserves. This is an album that deserves to play in an Apple Store or a movie staring Zendaya, but I’m worried it won’t get to that audience. It’s not his fault, but telling someone the (other) dude with no dick from Game Of Thrones makes music can be a hard sell.
Overall I like this album, it speaks to me and I’m really excited that it’s out. It’s not perfect but who among us (besides Guillermo from “What We Do In The Shadows”) is? If you’re in a weird mood because you coughed one time 2 days ago, give it a listen. I give “Andy” 7 “petitions to have D&D be shot out of a cannon” out of 10.