RØRY – BLOODLETTING: An Album That Bleeds, Screams and Somehow Makes You Feel Less Alone

In August of this year, my 11-year-old son and I got to listen to the entire BLOODLETTING album by RØRY, with the listening event hosted by RØRY herself.

And honestly… what an amazing opportunity.

It was one of those experiences where you walk in thinking you’re going to listen to an album and walk out having experienced something completely different.

Both my son and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We listened, we talked, we took it all in, and afterwards we even got to have a chat with Rox.

Oh… and she designed my next tattoo.

Because apparently listening to an album wasn’t enough.

So yes, I may now have a slightly more permanent connection to RØRY than your average reviewer!

But jokes aside, BLOODLETTING is something really special.

And after spending time with the album from beginning to end, I completely understand why.

So, let’s talk about BLOODLETTING…

If you’re expecting a simple follow-up to RESTORATION, prepare yourself.

This is RØRY with the volume turned up, the gloves off and a whole lot of emotions finally being allowed out of the cupboard.

The album explores grief, anger, mortality, healing, identity and what happens when you’ve spent far too long trying to be the person everyone else needs you to be.

Musically, it’s heavier too.

There are huge guitars, darker moments, screaming, industrial touches and an intensity that sometimes feels like you’re being hit with a giant emotional brick.

In the best possible way.

But underneath all that noise is what has always made RØRY’s music connect with people – the honesty.

She’s never seemed afraid to put the messy bits on the table.

And BLOODLETTING is VERY messy.

There’s grief.

There’s rage.

There’s sadness.

There’s humour.

There’s frustration.

There’s hope.

And there’s that feeling of finally saying:

“Actually… I’m allowed to feel this.”

The album was produced by long-term collaborators KINGDOMS, with additional production and mixing from Dan Lancaster, and RØRY has pushed herself vocally into much heavier territory, including learning to scream.

And boy, does she scream.

DEGRADATION

The album doesn’t exactly ease you in gently.

DEGRADATION comes charging through the door like someone who’s just discovered they’ve been emotionally mugged for the last ten years.

It’s angry.

It’s powerful.

It’s heavy.

And it immediately tells you that this isn’t going to be RESTORATION 2.0.

This is RØRY processing everything she’s been carrying and deciding she’s had enough of swallowing it.

And honestly?

Good.

Sometimes you don’t need to meditate your way through something.

Sometimes you need to scream in the car.

Preferably when the children aren’t in it.

Although… let’s be honest… they probably are.

SWALLOW

Then we get SWALLOW, which takes us somewhere much darker.

Grief sits heavily across BLOODLETTING, and this is one of those songs where you can feel the weight behind the words.

It’s uncomfortable.

It’s vulnerable.

And that’s precisely why it works.

RØRY doesn’t dress grief up and make it pretty.

She lets it be ugly.

She lets it hurt.

And she lets you sit with it.

That is something I really admire about this album.

It doesn’t pretend healing is a straight line.

Because it isn’t.

Some days you’re smashing life.

Other days you’re eating biscuits in your pyjamas wondering what the hell happened.

Both can exist.

THE DEATH OF A PEOPLE PLEASER

And then we get to the track that has probably hit me the hardest:

[the death of a people pleaser].

This isn’t just a song to me.

It’s a feeling.

Actually… it’s a bit too close to home.

The whole idea of constantly being the nice one.

The understanding one.

The person who makes excuses for everyone.

The one who says “it’s fine” when it really isn’t.

The one who keeps the peace.

The one who puts everyone else’s feelings before their own.

Yep.

That.

Over the past few months, I’ve been on my own journey of figuring out who I am, what I want, what I can give and, perhaps most importantly, what I don’t have to keep giving.

I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to make sure everyone else is okay.

Sometimes at my own expense.

And there’s something incredibly emotional about hearing someone put that experience into words.

RØRY has described the album as reclaiming parts of herself that had become disconnected through years of being the “bigger person”, forgiving people and making excuses for them.

And listening to the death of a people pleaser during this particular chapter of my own life felt like someone had opened my diary without permission.

Rude.

Accurate.

Slightly emotional.

It’s the sort of track that makes you stop and think:

Who am I when I’m not trying to keep everyone else happy?

And perhaps that’s why it has stayed with me so much.

Sometimes putting yourself first isn’t selfish.

Sometimes it’s survival.

Sometimes you have to let the people pleaser die a little bit so the actual you can breathe.

DEAD GIRL WALKING

Then there’s DEAD GIRL WALKING, which brings another completely different energy.

It’s chaotic.

It’s heavy.

It’s catchy.

It’s the musical equivalent of throwing your emotional baggage into the back of the car and driving off without telling anyone where you’re going.

And somehow, amongst all the darkness, there’s still fun.

That’s one of the things I love about RØRY.

She can make you feel like you’re going through an emotional breakdown while simultaneously making you want to scream the lyrics in the car.

Multitasking.

We love to see it.

STRANGE

STRANGE is another track that really stood out to me.

There’s something incredibly comforting about music that makes you feel seen.

Not fixed.

Not lectured.

Not told to “look on the bright side”.

Just…

seen.

And sometimes that’s enough.

Sometimes you don’t need someone to solve your problems.

You just need someone to say:

“Yep. I understand.”

HOMETOWN

And then we get hometown, which brings another layer of emotion to the record.

After all the rage, screaming and darkness, there’s something beautifully grounding about coming back to where you came from.

It feels reflective.

Almost like looking back at the person you were and recognising how much you’ve changed.

And perhaps that’s one of the biggest themes running through BLOODLETTING for me.

You can acknowledge who you were without having to remain that person.

AND THEN… DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?

The album closes with [do you want to live?].

And what a way to finish.

After everything we’ve travelled through, you’re left with a question that feels much bigger than music.

It’s about survival.

It’s about what keeps people here.

It’s about finding reasons to carry on when life gets incredibly dark.

And it’s deeply emotional.

There are moments across this album where you don’t just hear RØRY singing about emotions, you feel like you’re sitting beside them.

That’s a very difficult thing for an artist to achieve.

But she does.

So… what do I actually think?

Well.

I think BLOODLETTING is bloody brilliant.

It’s angry.

It’s heartbreaking.

It’s funny.

It’s uncomfortable.

It’s vulnerable.

It’s loud.

It’s messy.

It’s honest.

And underneath everything, it’s incredibly human.

There are albums you put on in the background while you’re doing the school run.

There are albums you listen to while cleaning the kitchen.

And then there are albums that somehow arrive at exactly the right point in your life.

For me, BLOODLETTING is the latter.

This album has landed during a period where I’ve been reassessing myself, letting go of some things, learning that I don’t have to keep everybody happy and figuring out what I actually want from the next chapter of my life.

And perhaps that’s why it has affected me so much.

It’s not just the music.

It’s the message underneath it.

You don’t have to shrink yourself to make other people comfortable.

You don’t have to apologise for having feelings.

You don’t have to be endlessly understanding.

And you absolutely don’t have to be the nicest person alive.

Sometimes you just need to be you.

And if that makes a little noise along the way…

Turn it up.

My verdict?

I genuinely think BLOODLETTING is one of my favourite albums of 2026.

Not just because it’s musically brilliant.

Not just because it’s heavy.

Not just because RØRY can apparently scream like she’s personally arguing with the universe.

But because underneath all of that is a huge beating heart.

And after getting to experience the album with my son, meet Rox afterwards, have a proper chat and somehow end up with her designing my next tattoo…

I think this album is going to hold a very special place in my heart.

So, RØRY…

Thank you for the music.

Thank you for the honesty.

Thank you for reminding us that it’s okay to be angry, sad, complicated, loud and occasionally a complete bloody mess.

And thank you for killing off the people pleaser.

Some of us needed to hear that.