RØRY - BLOODLETTING

For those who have ever felt alone in this world, or at the lowest of lows, RØRY’s music has brought comfort to many. It shows that there is, in fact, light at the end of the tunnel; that things can turn around for the better; and that no matter what stage of life you are at, it is never too late. Her first full release RESTORATION proved that last year, and now she is set to release her second album BLOODLETTING on 11th September.

As someone who has followed RØRY’s story both through her music, live shows, podcast and TikTok page over the last few years, I found it quite easy to pick out the narrative and references being portrayed in each song. Whether or not this comes through to someone stumbling upon RØRY for the first time is hard to say, but I personally think anyone can relate in some way or another even without the specifics.

BLOODLETTING touches on themes of redemption, loss, becoming less of a people pleaser (this hit home for me) and progress. In comparison to RESTORATION, BLOODLETTING is a far heavier-sounding album, if we are going through the important stages of grief, BLOODLETTING is Anger. Opening with a spoken word track, ‘[welcome to bloodletting]’, which feels like an initiation into a new mindset and the risks one takes when letting down the walls that come with a people-pleasing mentality.

RØRY explained during the album announcement, “I realised I was sick from being nice. I’d spent so much of my life being the bigger person, forgiving people, understanding people, making excuses for people. I’d become disconnected from huge parts of myself. BLOODLETTING was about reclaiming them.”

‘DEGRADATION’, one of the leading singles from the album proves that this is going to be a much heavier album, yet at the same time we hear RØRYs brilliant clean vocals between verses. An extremely strong opener that sets the bar high for the rest of the album. The following two tracks ‘SWALLOW’ and ‘a cure for cancer’ touch on the themes of grief in different formats. For those who know RORY’s story well will know of her personal journey with grief through losing her mother to cancer when she was 22. ‘SWALLOW’ has a contemporary sound including a rap in the second verse touching on the lowest point one can reach at rock bottom, knowing RØRY’s backstory, the line “I’m gonna see you again mummy, yeah cause I’m coming home” really hits at the pit of your stomach but at the same time reminds you how far she has come. ‘a cure for cancer’ touches the subject in a musically softer manner, though the synth that mimics an ECG is beautifully haunting. If you attended RØRYs groundbreaking set at Download Festival 2026, you may remember her anecdote of her collaborator Miles Kent who sadly passed away at the age of 29 to cancer, making ‘a cure for cancer’ hit extremely hard for those who have lost anyone to the illness at any age.

In a complete 180, we are hit with another heavy track, ‘MORTAL’, which you guessed, deals with the theme of mortality and what it means to be human following our natural instincts. ‘[the death of a people pleaser]’ acts as an interlude where RORY reminds herself that she is “the nicest person” repeatedly before it all gets too much and ends up in a screaming frenzy, something I think all of us people pleasers highly relate to. ‘KIDS THESE DAYS’ is a polarising track that satirises right-wing views on the current younger generation for being too “soft” or “woke”, emphasis on the satire and not actually what RØRY believes in I’m sure. A really clever track that you can almost hear your racist uncle’s voice nagging in your head.

The following two tracks ‘DEAD GIRL WALKING’ and ‘GREY’ carry on the themes of resurrection and how RØRY has managed to change her life around, while ‘[oh when the saints]’ (a live monologue) and ‘hometown’ touch on her hometown of Southampton (hence the reference to the famous Southampton FC chant), how one often wishes to return home but it often comes with complicated or tainted memories and trauma.

The closing two tracks ‘STRANGE’ and ‘[do you want to live?]’ focus on progress. ‘STRANGE’ goes year by year of her journey of sobriety from year one to year 7 finally being back on top, while ‘[do you want to live?]’ features voice notes from many people all over the world stating the reason they almost ended things but most importantly the reason they turned it all around and chose to live.

Overall, I have to say this album had me crying at my desk twice, which I think is a testament to how relatable someone’s experience can be. At the time, we usually feel so alone and what we are going through is only happening to us, but albums like BLOODLETTING remind us that we can get through this. Thank you RØRY.

BLOODLETTING IS OUT 11TH SEPTEMBER 2026

https://youtu.be/f5f5__r3_-g?si=2kQJZFgJUSM0MQBz