ALBUM REVIEW- Destroyer by Conn Thornton

Conn Thornton’s breath-taking debut album Destroyer is a love letter. A love letter to songwriters like Phoebe Bridgers, whose poetic melancholy is rivalled through the haunting piano sounds throughout the album, and Sufjan Stevens, through the heartbreaking melodies accompanied by bittersweet lyrics reflecting on past loves and present heartache. The opening track, Creation Myth, crashes powerfully into an atmospheric piano arrangement, not only a celebration of the musician’s classical training, but also a beautiful introduction to track two, City Song, in which the lilting piano guides us through a song that begins with wistful reflection and ends on a devastating emotional note, where the vocals shine just as brilliantly as their musical accompaniment. 

This album is also a love letter to Belfast. With lyrics such as “I drove my car down to Botanic and sat beneath the dappled willows” from Isaiah, the seven-minute crowning jewel of the album, and “I stand in awe here of the youth bathed in light” from the triumphant ode to love and protests Down by Writer’s Square, it is undeniable that this album has been shaped by long walks through Belfast’s city streets and deserves to be the soundtrack of all those wandering through the city contemplating love, identity and artistry. With his emotive and at times stunningly theatrical vocals, Conn takes us on a personal tour through familiar haunts, confessing deep desires and conjuring stunning character portraits along the way through captivating musical storytelling.

With this masterful debut, Conn Thornton has rapidly become an essential figure of the Belfast music industry, an artist who speaks to those sitting alone at the bar or standing by themselves in the smoking area, the students who walk the streets dwelling on past mistakes and heartbreaks they can’t seem to shake. In times as terrifying and uncertain as these, there is a vital need for an album like Destroyer. Now it has finally emerged, and the playfully lingering piano notes at the end of the album’s closing track make it clear that Conn has no intention of going anywhere just yet.