Ro Yourell –– known to many as a member of the 00s Irish indie-rock band Delorentos –– has shared his debut solo album Commencer along with the brand new single ‘When You Look At Me’, which comes paired with a music video directed by Gareth Anton Averill.

"We all want to be noticed,” Yourell said while speaking of the new track. “In western societies, our focus on ‘the self’, combined with the pressure to socially climb, can leave us alienated us from one another. 'When You Look At Me' explores social isolation from opposite ends of the spectrum, resolving that in order to be seen, we must first reach out.”

Recorded and mixed at Attica Audio Recording Studio in Co. Donegal, Commencer was co-produced by Yourell and Tommy McLaughlin, known for his previous work with Villagers, Ailbhe Reddy, Soak and more. The album was born of global and personal turbulence, coinciding with the onset of COVID-19, an escalation of political outrage and the start of Yourell’s young family.

"Commencer is a coming-of-age album,” Yourell explained. “It’s a reflection on the development of a person, through the prisms of family, religion and the myriad of other systems that we put in place, designed to enhance our lives, but which can become an end in themselves. It is a journey towards acceptance, but more than that, it is a challenge to myself and anyone who cares to listen, to recognise and cherish that which is truly precious."

His first official project as a solo artist, Commencer marks the beginning of a new era for Yourell, highlighting his ability to embrace change and tackle the enormity of modern life as it continues to challenge him as an artist and individual.

“Songwriting and performing have for a long time been my way of working things out, of exercising my demons. However in making this, my first record as a solo artist, I struggled for my voice in every sense. It wasn't until I began to share and be challenged on my work, that I realised what I passionately wanted to express.