Rory McBride – “The Azure King”

Rory McBride – “The Azure King”

You can tell right from the start that American singer Rory McBride is a poet. His soft psychedelic folk rock characterized with some blues and spiritual music often take on the cadence of a spoken word session during open mic night. The lyrics itself are imbued with a certain delicate poeticism that you’ll definitely find stirring. Together, the pairing of soft background music alongside half-sung and half-spoken word vocals creates a compelling ambience that a lot of us will find ourselves returning to again and again. The impact is so great that we can’t help but want to relive it again and again.

McBride returns with brand new single “The Azure King.” Here, at the start, the acoustic guitar reels you in. The sheer quality of McBride’s vocals arrives for a searing approach. The poetic lyrics and McBride’s spoken word-like vocals bring in a sound that draws directly from the Beatnik era. Half-way into the track the instrumentals are alone spotlighted with some light guitar and bongos. Gradually, you get some slam poetry as McBride half-sings and half-spoken word the lyrics for a really mesmerizing effect. Every second of this track was definitely captivating. I loved McBride’s unique approach, which I couldn’t get enough of.

I think that McBride really has got something here. He ties together philosophy and poetry and revitalizes the ’50s and ‘60s Beatnik era to create something truly timeless. Though McBride is a relatively young artist, he approaches his music with a wisdom and sageness that is beyond his years. This dive into spoken word poetry and a deep reflection of the arts is a surprising new take from a new artist that I’m sure you’ll enjoy. 6.8/10

by My Nguyen

“The Azure King” is a single off of McBride’s upcoming EP Stay Blue, which will be released June 2, 2023