''Sonder'' is the second studio album by Irish singer-songwriter

Dermot Kennedy Dermot Joseph Kennedy (born 13 December 1991) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 2019 single " Outnumbered", his 2020 single "Giants" and his feature on the 2020 Meduza single "Paradise". He is signed to Interscope Records i ...

, released on 18 November 2022 through Riggins Recording,

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. Originally scheduled to be released on 23 September 2022, its release was delayed twice: first to 4 November, then 18 November, with the latter due to the UK postal strike. The album was preceded by the singles " Better Days", "Something to Someone" and "Kiss Me", with "Innocence and Sadness" and "Dreamer" also released prior to the album. Kennedy will tour Europe, the UK and North America in 2023 in support of the record.

Background and recording

Kennedy worked on the album in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The title is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

referring to the "realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own". The ballad "Innocence and Sadness" was recorded in one take.

Singles

The single " Better Days" was released on 28 July 2021 and reached number four on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

and the top 20 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "Something to Someone" was promoted as the lead single and released on 5 May 2022, reaching number two in Ireland. "Kiss Me" was released on 2 September 2022 and peaked at number four on the Irish Singles Chart. The tracks "Dreamer" and "Innocence and Sadness" were also issued prior to the album and both reached the top 20 in Ireland.

Critical reception

Barney Harsent of ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

'' called the album "crowd-pleasing, high-polish pop" with "sparse accompaniments hiding in the wings giving Kennedy's voice the spotlight and space to fire up the feels", but felt "none of it screams raw emotion. ..It's music almost completely devoid of edge, almost impressively so". Harsent concluded that while it "does exactly what you'd expect", he found himself "wishing it did something else". Lauren Murphy of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' described ''Sonder'' as "another record of solid emotional pop songs that run the gamut from heartache to cautious optimism" although neither Kennedy's "musical nor his lyrical themes have developed in any groundbreaking manner since his 2018 debut ''

Without Fear "Without Fear" is a six-issue ''Daredevil'' story arc written by Ed Brubaker with art by Michael Lark and published by Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divs ...

''". While Murphy felt that it will "matter little to Kennedy's established fan base", "it comes across as a missed opportunity to prove his worth as a songwriter with original ideas rather than a one-trick pony".

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals (all tracks), piano (tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 11), guitar (3, 11) * Jonah Shy – synthesizer (1, 2, 7, 10, 11); guitar, programming (1, 2, 10, 11); drum programming (1, 7, 10, 11),

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

(1), drums (2), piano (2, 10) * Scott Harris – bass, guitar (2); piano (4), synthesizer (7) * Todd Clark – background vocals (3) * Chris Laws – drum programming (3) *

Stephen Kozmeniuk Stephen Kozmeniuk, known professionally as Koz, is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, engineer and instrumentalist. Production and writing credits include Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, and Dua Lipa. Koz received 3 Grammy nominatio ...

– drums, guitar, keyboards (3) * Mark Schick – guitar (3) * Dave Cohen –

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

, piano (3) *

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern British ...

– keyboards (3) * Dan Pursey – percussion (3) * Ryan Linvill – drum programming, saxophone (4, 5, 9); synthesizer (4, 5), acoustic guitar (4), guitar (5), synthesizer programming (9) *

Daniel Nigro Daniel A. Nigro (born October 11, 1948) was the Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) from 2014 until his retirement in 2022. Nigro's appointment was announced on May 9, 2014, and he was sworn in on June 9. Nigro was the 33rd ...

– drum programming, piano (4, 5, 9); acoustic guitar,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

(4); background vocals, bass (5, 9); percussion, synthesizer (5); keyboards (9) *

Kenny Beats Kenneth Charles Blume III, known professionally as Kenny Beats, is an American record producer, audio engineer, and songwriter. Early life Kenneth Blume III was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He has been studying music since the age ...

– drum programming, synthesizer (7) *

Cass Lowe Cass Lowe is a British songwriter, record producer, musician and singer, best known for his Grammy Award and Ivor Novello-winning collaborations with Jesse & Joy, Snakehips and Chance the Rapper. Career Lowe has produced and co-written songs ...

– background vocals, drums, guitar, piano, programming, synthesizer (8) *

Emile Haynie Emile Haynie (born July 13, 1980), often credited simply as Emile, is an American music producer from Buffalo, New York. His range of production includes alternative rock, hip hop, indie and pop music. Haynie has worked with several prominent ar ...

– drums, programming, synthesizer (8) *

Chappell Roan Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, known professionally as Chappell Roan (born February 19, 1998) is an American singer and songwriter. A pop music artist, she writes most of her own songs and has described her style as "dark pop with ballad undertones." Wh ...

– background vocals (9) * Steve Solomon –drum programming, guitar, piano, programming, synthesizer (11) *

David Hodges David Hall Hodges (born December 5, 1978) is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000–2002. He has since had success co-writing and co–produci ...

– drum programming, guitar, piano, programming, synthesizer (11) Technical *

Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse, Cage the ...

– mastering * Matty Green – mixing (1, 2, 4, 9, 11),

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(9) *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...

– mixing (3, 8) * Jamie Snell – mixing (5–7, 10) * Mitch McCarthy – mixing (9) * Matt Wolach – mix engineering (3) * Kyle Haas – engineering (1, 10) * Jonah Shy – engineering (2, 7, 11) * Chris Laws – engineering (3) * Dan Pursey – engineering (3) * Ryan Linvill – engineering (4, 5, 9) * Jake Libassi – engineering (5) * Ed McEntee – engineering (11) *

Carey Willetts Carey Willetts (born January 1976 in Crewe, Cheshire, England) is an English musician, songwriter and producer. He has released work under the name "Boxes", and was the bassist in the English indie band Athlete, with whom he has won an Ivor No ...

– vocal engineering (9)

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Dermot Kennedy 2022 albums Albums produced by Dan Nigro Albums produced by Steve Mac Dermot Kennedy albums Interscope Records albums Island Records albums