William The Conqueror: Excuse Me While I Vanish [Album]

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Ruarri Joseph has done it again, and shows no sign of slowing down. He's a prolific and immensely talented songwriter, and seems to have found his perfect outlet through the William The Conqueror project. 

The band's previous two albums have both featured in my top 10s ('Proud Disturber of the Peace' in 2022, and 'Maverick Thinker' in 2021) - I loved them for their richness, honesty and very clever lyrical work. The new LP, 'Excuse Me While I Vanish' (actually the band's fourth) is no different. It's a record which feels packed with goodness; warmly layered with a truly organic, analogue feel throughout. 

The first three tracks are relatively energetic. 'The Puppet and The Puppeteer' starts off quite innocuously, the backbeat chugging along nicely, but with hints of the strength to come thanks to the clever and instantly entrancing lyrics. 

I was elsewhere as usual, minding my own again; 

News that the king set alight to his throne again;

Holding his wrists to the flames to be whole again,

And asking for me --

A guitar wail, and Ruarri and his band have set out their stall, paving the way for a gradual increase in fuzzy intensity, which takes you to surprising heights by the end. 

Next up, 'The Bruises' has a swaying, and psych-edged feel, while staying firmly grounded in rootsy-rock; then 'Sheepskin Sleeve' comes in with a classic, brooding bass riff which supports Ruarri's storytelling lyrics, and later some breakout guitar riffs and uncaged drums. This is typical WTC: making good use of certain well-tested motifs but tying them together with brilliantly judged, modern touches to create something at the same time classic and contemporary. Reinventing and preserving the genre, while also creating a new one.

Then it's 'L.W.Y.' - a very chilled track in comparison to what we've heard so far. The song has a gorgeous pacing, built over a strummed acoustic guitar, and oozes Americana-inspired romanticism. It's centred around the genius lyrical statement, "I'm lost within you, and I'm lost without you" - the kind of misleadingly simple writing which is extremely hard for most to achieve. It's moving, and somehow more so each time you listen; and even further when you learn that the song apparently took years to come to fruition, and also reportedly took on a life of its own, turning into one about the love between father and daughter. (This excellent review taught me that, and lots more, about the record and other parts of WTC's back catalogue.)

'Somebody Else' uses a three-note piano riff, repeating and re-occurring, to great effect, and slightly tweaked to provide a great rising lead into the joyously-released chorus. Again, a deceptively simple musical trick that I'm sure plenty of other songwriters will wish they had thought of first. Enter the screeching guitars on later iterations of that bridging section, for even more reward.

Ruarri's skill is weaving those kinds of techniques into his honest lyricism without crossing the uncertain boundary into cliché. He walks the line, and somehow manages to stay on the right side of it. And the band rise to the occasion in their interpretation.

'Shots Fired From Heaven' is more lazily paced, building into some great phases where noodling guitars seem to battle with their distorted cousins. This leads into 'The Tether', a properly bluesy, country and western number. This is a genre Ruarri manages easily, singing naturally in his hard-to-place, but definitely not American, accent. He was born in Edinburgh but spent some of his formative years in New Zealand, and then in various parts of England, most recently Cornwall. This varied background might explain the ease with which he flits between styles, always exuding relaxed and happy confidence, even when singing intensely personal and revealing lines.

In contrast to the preceding track, 'Elsie Friend' has a light-touch almost bouncy feel, a Beatles-esque style perhaps, married with lyrics which paint brief but skilful cameos of a cast of characters. This is a thoroughly English kind of song, appearing surprisingly but un-jarringly on this record otherwise packed with Americana references.

We're into the last part of the record now, led aside gently for 'A Minute's Peace', where Ruarri croons over a more classic chord sequence, accompanied by strains of Hammond organ and tight backing vocals

The closing song 'In Your Arms' is - a love song? A good-old proper romantic ballad? But - of course - run through with existential misgivings. An absolute gem of a song in any case. What a way to end another brilliantly thought-through record; one on which Ruarri displays a confident maturity, a way with words, and a way with music which blesses as well as challenges.

It encapsulates, I think, what WTC is all about: warm, rich, hand-woven music with a message; open to interpretation, but absolutely able to stand on its own; timeless and golden, but with the rough edges not yet filed off.


At the time of writing, WTC are in the middle of a series of in-stores, and have also announced a headline tour in October (details below). I loved hearing them live last year and highly recommend getting down to one of their shows if you possibly can.

October headline tour:

Fri 6 - Princess Pavilion - Falmouth, UK

Tue 10 - Cavern Club - Exeter, UK

Wed 11 - Green Door Store - Brighton, UK

Fri 13 - Lower Third - London, UK

Sat 14 - Esquires - Bedford, UK

Sun 15 - Yellow Arch Studios - Sheffield, UK

Tue 17 - Sneaky Pete's - Edinburgh, UK

Wed 18 - Cluny 2 - Newcastle, UK

Thu 19 - Deaf Institute - Manchester, UK

Sat 21 - Swn Festival - Cardiff, UK

Sun 22 - Hare and Hounds - Birmingham, UK

Fri 27 - Boia Festival - St. Davids