Eleri Ward made a name for herself through her indie-folk covers of Sondheim songs. It got her the attention of The New York Times and Forbes among others. But we know her more for her original work.
By Graeme Smith
A string of singles and an EP have passed through our pages, and now it’s time for her debut album release. Internal Rituals embodies her mission statement, and I asked her what that mission was.
“My mission statement as a person and as an artist is to empower and inspire people to be their authentic selves by always showing up as my most authentic self in everything I do,” she says.
“I believe that when we look inward, accept and embrace who we are, and actively do what it takes to embody the version of ourselves we not only are meant to be but choose to be, the world becomes a better place.”
We hear that in Internal Rituals, a twelve track collection that tells us exactly who Ward is. With it, she steps out of Sondheim’s shadow and embraces her own quirky sound and world.
It’s great because it’s her originality that made me fall in love with her music. We get plenty of unconventional and unexpected compositions across the album. The stories stay relatable, though.
“This entire album is a flowing journey through becoming a new identity that truly aligns with my own unbridled self, and it ultimately ends in love,” Ward goes on. “When we look at ourselves truthfully, we begin to open ourselves up to the reality around us in a much broader way. Growth is non-linear, and so is this album because of that. But the arrival is unshakable. When you love yourself to your fullest, you can’t help but emit a higher frequency and thus elevate the frequency of the reality around you.”
Stepping Through opens things boldly before the wordplay of Citrine proves an early highlight. Sweeping, soaring, layered vocalisations will have you gripped while the wistfulness of the lyrics stir.
There are moments of self-doubt as in the stripped-back Burden and romance in the lush Immortal. Single Float is another buoyant highlight, reflecting on the act of surrendering to the moment. Run, too, sticks with you through its uplifting and defiant arrangement. The otherworldly Venusian Light end things strongly.
The album might not be what Ward’s musical theatre fans will be expecting but look below the surface and you’ll find some commonality.
“I think it comes through in my storytelling, not entirely lyrically because I don’t relate to the lyric writing in a lot of musical theatre, but in expression, arc, and intentionally crafting moments of change from one part of the song to the next so that by the end something in me has changed,” Ward says. “Not to mention in performance. Any type of performance is theatre, and I choose to take up all the space on stage in order to fully embody and express this music through my physicality, energy, and voice.”
Eleri Ward will be launching her album at Public Records in Brooklyn, New York on 15 October 2025, and she’s promising “breathing together, shifting timelines together, feeling a lot of feelings together, high notes, yodels, a lot of fun.”
After that, what’s next?
“Tour, writing more music, working on the musical I’m writing,” Ward says, “and acting on more ideas that have really inspired and surprised me lately.”
I can’t wait to experience it all. For now, Internal Rituals is plenty to get stuck into. It’s an album that bears multiple listens, perfects for feeling its feelings and appreciating the cleverness of its lyrics. The album is out now, and you can listen to it below.
