Go backstage with The Music and receive FREE:

  • Exclusive members-only editorial, charts
  • Our subscriber-only newsletter
  • Members only competitions to win tickets, experiences and more
  • Access to our street press archives
  • First access to our exclusive limited edition vinyl variants

Thank you for being a part of our community! Enter your email address as verification and you'll be taken backstage right away.

Please ensure that you provide a valid email address.

Album Review: Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier - The Words Of Men

StarStarStarHalf Star

"It's just a shame there isn’t more."

More Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier

Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier have collaborated for nearly three decades, and they might do alright in this music caper, eh? The Words Of Men is their tenth album together, and it rolls together beautifully with a mixture of folk, catchy indie-pop and the special something that only Conway’s sound can provide.

Particular highlights include opener Fallen Star, supported by a chugging guitar and well-placed backing vocal, while Imperfect Words is a track that’s catchy and rolls along, with a repeatability that is satisfying rather than demanding. There’s A War That’s Coming creeps up, demanding a volume adjustment and the listener’s full attention, and I Need To Complain rambles along, dangerously close to being a good old fashioned road-tripping track. Glorious.

On the other end of the spectrum there’s a lovely understated sinisterness in Seaside Resort (listen and love for yourself, dear reader); something that the creeping bass line and slow chorus of Yours With Disgust also draw out. To end, There’s Not Much Sleeping To Be Had is as suggestive, as well, the best of this pair’s back catalogue. Familiar without being stale, fresh but also clearly soaked in experience – it's just a shame there isn’t more.