WORTH A LOOK?: ****

New Ducrot single Heaven is uptempo, keyboard-led and reflects on his difficult childhood.

• Read on for reasons including Ducrot’s new debut album release date and where to see him live in 2023

It’s about his relationship with his brother, support through tough times and how he’s emerged victorious: ‘Well, now you’ve got a kid, I’m with Ed on tour in cities I’ve never been.’

Heaven is released on debut album Victory which was to come out on 21 July but now emerges on 4 August and ahead of it Ducrot said: ‘To begin to understand the album there’s some things you need to know about my life, where I came from, how I was raised, and the kind of kid I was. A broken home at an early age is where the story really began, my mom, my brother and I became a team and music was our saviour. It saved us mentally and spiritually but it also allowed my mom to literally put food on the table.

‘My dad was very abusive growing up both physically and sexually, my mother fought extremely hard to protect my brother and I, and to get us away from him. It wasn’t easy, it seemed like everything required years of fighting and perseverance. I have my mom to thank for the person I am today.

‘When I dropped out of college to pursue being a songwriter, when not one person believed in me, I reflected on our past and everything my mom managed to do as a single mother to raise my brother and I in not only a system that didn’t welcome her as a foreigner but also one that was extremely patriarchal.

‘I remember asking her, ‘How did you do it? How did you find the strength when you had no money and two kids to take care of? When a judge said, ‘Isn’t that what husbands do to their wives?’ after you telling him in court he was raping you? After your own kids told you their father was sexually abusing them and after you were left alone without a clue how to survive? How did you do it?’

‘My mom replied simply, ‘I had no choice so I figured it out.’ Never had I heard more inspiring words in my life. I carry those with me today everywhere I go. No matter how hard the road became and how much I had to fight to be heard, I never gave up. I believed in myself every single step of the way because I had a dream and that’s worth fighting for.

‘This album represents that victory, the victory of self-belief, the victory of everyone around me who I love and who loved me back, the story of my brother, of my mother, of my grandparents, of my friends, and everyone who fought by our side every step of the way. This album is for all of those people and my amazing fans, we made it out alive and more. This is for us. This is Victory.’

We last saw Ducrot live in Camden at KOKO this year and hope to catch up with him at Southsea’s glorious Victorious Festival in August as well as on tour at Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith in November.

Victory also includes our favourites How Do You Know?, Part Of Me, I‘ll Be Waiting and All For You.

We 1st saw him live at London’s Lafayette last year and said: ‘We look back on our notes from the gig the night afterwards and we’ve scribbled ‘Irish Ed Sheeran’. What we mean is that the Cork-born singer and multi-instrumentalist has a way of penning songs that tug at the heartstrings in an impressive voice with gorgeous falsetto while playing multiple instruments.’

We can’t believe how far he’s come in less than 12 months and can’t wait to hear that debut album.

• Main picture by via Facebook courtesy Cian Ducrot Tickets
• Have you seen a show or heard a song by Cian Ducrot? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this review? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @monstagigz, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook