Gruff Rhys has shared ‘Bad Friend’, the third and final track to be lifted from his new album ‘Sadness Sets Me Free’, due out on 26 January 2024 via Rough Trade Records.

The album will be the Welsh musician’s 25th long playing record in his 35-year recording career.

Discussing the new track Gruff Rhys said, “People always refer to ‘good friends’. This song is toying with the idea of the ‘bad friend’. Maybe a bad friend is still better than not being a friend at all. Some friends function better than others, but they’re not enemies. Within the structures of 21st-century life, the pressure on people’s time – and what we are expected to be able to perform in daily life – is so kaleidoscopic. If I could shorten the sentiments to one line, it would be ‘all in good time’. It’s me reaching out to friends through song because maybe I haven’t had the chance to go to their house or talk to them on the phone.”

The accompanying music video was directed by long term co-creative visual mastermind Mark James and filmed on location in Wales and at Hard Lines Coffee in Canton, Cardiff.

WATCH HERE:

Gruff Rhys 2024 UK Tour Dates:

Aberystwyth Arts Centre, 02 Feb
London Kings Place, 07
London Kings Place, 08
Manchester New Century Hall, 10
Belfast Empire Music Hall, 14
Dublin Sugar Club, 15
Dublin Sugar Club, 16
Liverpool Hanger 34, 17
Glasgow St Lukes, 19
Bristol Strange Brew, 22
Bristol Strange Brew, 23
Narberth Queens Hall, 24

Remaining tickets on sale now from Gigantic Ticketmaster Ticketweb See Tickets

Gruff Rhys ‘Sadness Sets Me Free’ Full Album Tracklisting:

Sadness Sets Me Free
Bad Friend
Celestial Candyfloss
Silver Lining (Lead Balloons)
On The Far Side of the Dollar
They Sold My Home to Build a Skyscraper
Peace Signs
Cover Up The Cover Up
I Tended My Resignation
I’ll Keep Singing

Image Credit: Mark James / PRESS