The darkness remains his strength: Review of Henric de la Cour’s fourth studio album “My Bones, Your Ashes”

Henric de la Cour, this icon of the Swedish goth scene, really needs no further introduction, and yet we take on the challenge of doing so as briefly as possible. In a career spanning over three decades to date, Henric de la Cour was, amongst other things, the frontman of the bands Yvonne and Strip Music, before he launched his solo career with his self-titled debut album in 2011. He also regularly spins records as a DJ, played Jack Skellington in a musical version of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and has become a well-known face of the incurable disease cystic fibrosis, with which he was diagnosed at the age of 7 and which is also the subject of the documentary “Henric de la Cour”, broadcast several times by the national public television channels SVT in Sweden and NRK in Norway. And for all those who are wondering whether the pleasant-sounding surname “de la Cour” is just a stage name: No, it is not. Henric de la Cour descends from the French-born Danish family la Cour, which has a Swedish branch, de la Cour (actually Dornonville de la Cour), hence his full name is Paul Henric Dornonville de la Cour. And today (31 January 2025), this very Paul Henric Dornonville de la Cour will release his fourth studio album, “My Bones, Your Ashes”, via Birds Will Sing For You.

The album opens with “Bones, Ashes“, a smooth dance track that culminates in a surprisingly energetic chorus. It is the perfect choice as the album’s opener and would probably be just as perfect as an opener for Henric de la Cour‘s upcoming live shows. At the same time, “Bones, Ashes” is also one of the strongest songs on the album. It could have been a track on Nine Inch Nails‘ masterpiece “The Fragile”, if you ignore the absence of Trent Reznor’s aggression.

Track number two, “Hey You, Hell No“, was released in September 2024 as the first single from “My Bones, Your Ashes” and it is basically a comeback single, as Henric de la Cour‘s previous long-player “Gimme Daggers” was released more than six years ago, in September 2018. Speaking of which: As with his previous solo albums (“Henric de la Cour”, “Mandrills” and “Gimme Daggers”), Henric de la Cour is once again working with Rikard Lindh, one of his bandmates in Yvonne, who is responsible for the production of “My Bones, Your Ashes”. But back to “Hey You, Hell No“: From the title to the chorus to the unpredictable lyrics, this song bears Henric de la Cour‘s unmistakable signature, so the choice to release “Hey You, Hell No” as the first single from “My Bones, Your Ashes” shows once again the right instinct.

“Dead Hank” was released in January 2025 as the third and current single from “My Bones, Your Ashes”, with a chorus that has a melancholic vibe but could also garner a lot of radio airplay. 80s inspired new wave in the style of Visage. “Interlude“, which was released in November 2024 as the album’s second single, is in a similar vein as “Dead Hank“, although overall a bit darker and somewhere between Joy Division and New Order.

The intro of “Dread Forever” is already much darker, even though the lyrics are ironically more positive (“I will stop the drinking and focus on my pills. And get better. And start smiling.”). Such lines hit differently when you are familiar with the background of the musician from the Swedish city of Eskilstuna. Here, darkness is not a chic tool. Here, someone knows exactly what he is writing and singing about, and that is exactly what makes Henric de la Cour so incredibly authentic. About ten years ago, a new medicine came on the market, lifting some of the terminal aspects of his illness, and while we personally wish him all the happiness and light in the world, musically, Henric de la Cour continues to shine the brightest in the darkness.

While the atmospheric “Hate In G Minor” is once again reminiscent of Visage, “Scavenger” and “High-Rise” deliver radio-friendly synth-pop in the style of New Order. And then, out of nowhere, comes track number nine, “Schneider“. A minimalist ballad with a piano, very discreet synth sounds, the crackle of a vinyl record and Henric de la Cour‘s characteristic voice in the foreground. The lyrics also contribute significantly to the melancholy of “Schneider“, with the last four lines hitting particularly hard (“I did everything I could. That is what I tell myself. I did my very best to please you. I did my very best I’d say.”). It is impossible not to be touched by “Schneider“, and it would have been the perfect closing track, but perhaps the intention was not to leave the listener in a state of sadness, which is why the more optimistic “Autumn Is Upon Me” follows as the actual closing track of the album.

If you love the synth-heavy pop of the 1980s, you should definitely add “My Bones, Your Ashes” to your vinyl record collection. And that is to be taken literally because “My Bones, Your Ashes” is Henric de la Cour‘s first studio album which will be released only digitally and on vinyl, and not on CD. Those who prefer darker tunes and / or heavier sounds will at least enjoy “Bones, Ashes“, “Hey You, Hell No“, the grower “Dread Forever” and “Schneider“. As I have mentioned elsewhere, in Sweden, genres like rock and metal are less-than-fashionable at the moment, even though Scandinavia’s largest country has one of the highest concentrations of rock and metal bands per capita in the world. This is also evident with bands like Then Comes Silence, Henric de la Cour‘s fellow countrymen and genre colleagues, who have been enjoying increasing popularity for years, especially in countries like Germany. Besides some shows in Sweden and Norway this spring, Henric de la Cour will also perform at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2025, one of the biggest gothic festivals in the world, in the German city of Leipzig. With “My Bones, Your Ashes” under his belt and a hopefully more active tour schedule in the future, lines like “Success always beyond reach” (“Autumn Is Upon Me“) should soon be a thing of the past.

Tracklist:
01 Bones, Ashes
02 Hey You, Hell No
03 Dead Hank
04 Interlude
05 Dread Forever
06 Hate In G Minor
07 Scavenger
08 High-Rise
09 Schneider
10 Autumn Is Upon Me