RØRY: BLOODLETTING
You may be familiar with RØRY through her popular and emotionally resonant podcast on YouTube with her partner, ADHD Love, but did you know that Rox Pink is also a powerhouse musician? BLOODLETTING is the latest entry in the compelling music career of singer Roxanne Emery, known by her stage name RØRY, and it’s an album for the ages. RØRY is an artist who knows how to transmute her pain into beauty, and you can definitely feel that throughout this album.
BLOODLETTING is a transformative record that encourages you to confront what has been buried beneath the surface. Set for release on 11 September 2026 via SADCØRE RECORDS, the album marks a new creative chapter in RØRY’s artistry. With heavyweight collaborators KINGDOMS, alongside additional production and mixing from Dan Lancaster (Bring Me The Horizon, Muse), the record showcases vulnerability as a sacred act.
The album opens with an urgent interlude, one of several sprinkled throughout the record, that poses the acute question of whether you want to live or die, immediately inviting the listener into the profound dialogue that unfolds throughout the musical journey.
The first single from the record, ‘DEGRADATION’, is a major heavy hitter in every sense. It explores RØRY’s reflection on the painful loss of her mother, who died of cancer when she was just 22. Both the track and its accompanying visuals showcase the dichotomy between deep sorrow and grief, the feeling of being trapped by that pain, and the freedom and strength that can come from accepting such a painful truth. The song’s central message of choosing love over being consumed by trauma demonstrates how easy it can be to fall into a negative cycle after experiencing profound loss, but also how powerful it can be to remain grounded and choose to move forward.
‘SWALLOW’ delivers a devastating meditation on the existentialism that can emerge when pain becomes all-consuming. There is an unusual duality to the track: its melancholy is deeply isolating, yet there is something quietly empowering in its refusal to minimize the anguish of loss or pretend that anyone else can fully comprehend it.
Written as a deeply personal memorial to RØRY’s mother, ‘a cure for cancer’ finds acceptance in the aftermath of profound loss. Much of the album’s aggression falls away here, replaced by intricate guitar work and softer vocals that give the song an almost fragile quality. That restraint ultimately makes its emotional weight hit even harder.
Mortality looms large on ‘MORTAL’, an existential ballad that confronts the inevitability of death while making an argument for embracing life in spite of it. Its message is ultimately one of urgency: we never know how much time we have, making the tension between the pain of existence and its inherent beauty all the more poignant.
With ‘KIDS THESE DAYS’, RØRY turns her attention toward generational trauma and the ways in which unresolved suffering can be passed down. The track draws heavily from the energy of ’90s nu-metal, using its heavier sound to amplify a palpable frustration with closed-mindedness and the tendency to weaponize pain against those who come after us.
Few moments on the record feel as triumphant as ‘DEAD GIRL WALKING’. Drawing on her experiences with trauma and addiction, RØRY reflects on recovery with a profound sense of gratitude, transforming the track into a declaration of survival and redemption. More than simply looking back at what she endured, she reclaims the agency to determine what comes next – a powerful reminder that surviving trauma does not erase it, but it does allow you to take ownership of the life that follows.
On ‘GREY’, RØRY turns inward, contemplating the meaning of her existence while struggling to find her footing in the wake of devastating loss. Its quiet introspection offers a welcome change of pace from the album’s more aggressive moments, allowing the vulnerability at the heart of the record to come through with particular clarity.
‘hometown’ confronts the lingering psychological impact of childhood trauma, dedicating its story to those still living with the PTSD associated with a formative place or neighborhood. Rather than treating a hometown simply as somewhere you come from, RØRY transforms it into a metaphor for the past itself — a place capable of shaping you, haunting you, and remaining emotionally inescapable long after you have physically left.
Bringing the record to a close, ‘STRANGE’ finds RØRY reflecting on healing from a place of hard-won perspective. Its bittersweet meditation on growing older while continuing to carry the person you once were captures one of the album’s most affecting contradictions: we move forward, but we never completely leave our former selves behind. As a closer, it brings BLOODLETTING’s central themes full circle, making for an immensely beautiful conclusion to the record.
BLOODLETTING ultimately becomes more than an album; it is a cathartic outlet for those who feel alone, those who have overcome seemingly immeasurable odds, and those who, despite everything they have endured, continue to choose life. For anyone in the US who needs support or is experiencing thoughts of self-harm, please call or text 988. You are not alone, and there are people who care about you and want to help.