With their new album Too Pure to Cure (out 4/22/2025), NYC-based band The Ritualists return with a collection that reflects the group’s evolution — shaped by a solidified lineup, growing onstage chemistry, and a desire to create music that moves both body and mind. Led by singer and bassist Christian Dryden, the band blends goth, glam, and modern rock into something theatrical yet grounded. The album was produced and mixed by GRAMMY-winner Mario J. McNulty (David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Prince), whose influence helped sharpen the record’s focus and dynamics.
The Ritualists, who emerged from the East Village’s underground rock and glam scene, have built a following around their powerful live shows and retro-modern aesthetic. Their sound is rooted in the drama of Bowie and Bryan Ferry, the edge of early Suede, and the polish of classic pop craftsmanship. The group is composed of Dryden (vocals, bass), Jeffrey Andrew (keyboards), David Andreana (guitars), Ignacio Lecumberri (bass, guitars), and Eric Kuby (drums).
Over Zoom, Dryden talked about the making of the album, working with McNulty, his influences as a singing bassist, and how the band has found its stride.
This is your third album. Were there any particular ways that either the approach or the creative process differed this time around?
Christian Dryden: I think so. I think stylistically the band has evolved a little bit. I think that’s sort of been informed by the fact that I’ve had a very solid lineup since the tail end of Baroque and Bleeding, which was the second record. We’ve been playing a lot of shows together, and we’ve just sort of been feeding off our audience. There’s been this synergy with the audience, and I think a lot of the newer stuff on the new record is intended to move people physically as well as mentally.
Whereas with the first record, it was very cerebral, and it was pretty much only two current members who were on that record — myself and the keyboardist. We sort of focused more on the inward, and we had these very psychedelic, very kind of personal songs. I think this is much more of a public record — that’s the word I’d use, for lack of a better term.
When we talked about the first album, you said that you did all the songwriting. Is it more of a collaborative process these days? Do the other band members contribute?
Christian Dryden: I wouldn’t say that they contribute to the songwriting per se, but I think they contribute in terms of the parts they’re putting over the progressions and the lyrics that I’m providing. And I’m also writing with their tendencies in mind, so in a way, they are shaping the songcraft.
Could you talk about working with Mario as a producer?
Christian Dryden: That has been a joy. Mario’s great. He has a great sense of making something rock and roll, making something pop, and just making it speak to you as a listener. And I think he’s very cognizant of… I’ve said this about Ed Buller as well, who was great — but these guys are really good at trimming the fat, editing, and helping with the decision-making process as to what stays in a song and what’s extraneous material we can jettison.
Are there specific songs that were particularly impacted by working with him?
Christian Dryden: I think the latest single, “You Know Better,” rhythmically — because Mario started out as a drummer — and so he was very laser-focused on the way the drums were performed, on how the drums interacted with the arps on the track, and the interplay with the bass. And I think that comes across in the track because it’s a pretty busy song rhythmically. But I think he juggles those different elements very well.
My favorite mix that he did on the record, though, is a song called “Every Little Thread,” which is quite a complicated song, and I didn’t know how it was going to turn out. And then when I heard his mix, I was just like, “Wow, this is sort of what I was imagining in my head.” We were really on the same page for that one, and I was very happy with the way it came out.
Are you the type of artist who has an overall idea for an album going into it? Or is it more a case of having a batch of material and then shaping that into a release?
Christian Dryden: Well, I’ve never done a concept album — not that I’d be against the idea — but for me, it really sort of happens organically when I feel the material is in a good place. It just comes together naturally. I never want something to sound contrived, like, “Okay, it was time for us to make an album, so here’s our album, and these are the songs we happened to have at the time, so we put them on a record.” That’s never the way I would do things.
It would always be like, “Okay, here are the 15 or 20 songs we’ve been playing with at rehearsals. I think we have nine or ten songs that work as an album, and I think they’re worth showing to the listening public.” I think that’s sort of how it comes together.
Last time we talked quite a bit about influences. There are definitely some pretty evident ones in the new music, but I’m wondering — are there any influences that might not be apparent to the listener?
Christian Dryden: That’s a great question. I haven’t been asked that one before. Well, I mean, Paul McCartney is an absolute hero of mine. He’s a singing bassist. I don’t know if any Paul McCartney influence comes across in these songs, but definitely in the way he approaches the bass as a secondary voice. I’m the bassist on this record as well, so I’d say McCartney for sure.
I mean, obviously, I think people who listen can hear the John Taylor stuff, but there’s definitely Paul McCartney in there too. As far as vocally — Brett Anderson, Simon Le Bon have been discussed. But I also love the tonality of Greg Lake’s voice. Another singing bassist. He was in King Crimson on their first LP, and then became the bass player and vocalist in Emerson, Lake & Palmer. And I mean, while I don’t go crazy for that super technical rock stuff, his voice is very melodic and smooth. It’s very rock and roll, and his contributions to those bands were actually very simplistic and basic. I think he balanced those bands out in a way.
So I’m a big Greg Lake fan, vocally — which I don’t know if you’d pick up on just by listening to the music.
What are your plans for when the album comes out? Are you planning on touring? What are your short-term plans?
Christian Dryden: Okay, so in the short term — well, we’re going to keep gigging. We’re doing a sort of album release party down in North Carolina, where the artist who did the paintings for our album cover, Sebastian Correa, has a big studio. We’re going to play at the art exhibit.
He did these nine-by-nine paintings of us, which now feature on the album cover. He’s going to unveil them, and it’s going to be an art exhibit and a performance. We’re really looking forward to that. That’ll be the last weekend in April, in Wilson, North Carolina. We’re also going to play a few dates around there, and we’ve got some things lined up for the summer.
So yeah, we’ll be continuing to gig. We have another video in the works for our final single off this record, which is a song called The Wake — it’s the opening track on the album. So we’ve got some things happening. Yeah.
Was it obvious what songs you wanted to use as singles?
Christian Dryden: No. Everybody had an opinion on it. I had an opinion. Other guys in the band had an opinion. Our PR rep, Rey, had an opinion. Our producer, Mario, had an opinion. Our manager… and there was a consensus on “You Know Better,” I think.
With this last single, “The Wake,” I kind of pulled rank on that one and said, “This is the one that I really feel strongly about — it’s representative of the direction we’re going.” So while “You Know Better” was more of a group decision, I think The Wake was more of a Christian Dryden decision.
A lot of the acts who influenced you were pioneers with music videos, and of course now the way people see them is quite a bit different. What are your thoughts on the place of the music video in the online world and in terms of using them for promotion nowadays?
Christian Dryden: I see them in some ways as a necessary evil. You sort of have to do them to make the single make sense — people look for them. But it also puts a lot of pressure on the artist and on the record label to spend, spend, spend. And these videos… I mean, there isn’t really an MTV anymore, so the video is just sort of a glorified commercial for the song.
And like anything dealing with different mediums around your music, you can be really artistic and creative with it, but you’re going to have budgetary constraints — which will impact the vision and limit what you can do. So yeah, I think music videos are a mixed bag. I kind of feel pressured to make them, but usually after they’re done, I’m happy we did them. So it’s an added stress for the artist.
Could you talk about your work with Slinky Vagabond?
Christian Dryden: Yes, I did. Keanan is a great friend of mine, and drums were actually my first instrument. Any opportunity I get to rock out… I take it. I actually recorded the drums on Baroque and Bleeding, so that’s me playing drums.
But as I’ve said in a few other interviews, I’m not really the right drummer for The Ritualists. The Ritualist is very structured — on the beat, with that arp-type drumming — and I’m a little more loosey-goosey, more of a Keith Moon-type drummer.
Keenan’s stuff is kind of Britpoppy and has an Oasis element to it. The Oasis tracks I’ve heard and loved have a bit of that Keith Moon swagger, too. So he asked me to come in and play the tracks, and the whole album was already recorded — except for the drums. So it was an odd way to track drums, and it was really challenging. Usually, drums are the first thing you record, or you record everything simultaneously. So that was a real challenge — and it was fun.
I’m happy with the way it came out. I think they did a great job with it.
How did that fit in terms of timeframe with The Ritualists album? Were you working on them both at the same time, or how did it fit in?
Christian Dryden: No, I actually recorded those drums quite a while ago. That drum tracking was completed, and it took those guys a little while to put the record out. So no, the entire “Too Pure to Cure” record was recorded well after I had already tracked those drums.
Have you been involved with any other projects on the side that you want to mention?
Christian Dryden: I do drum on occasion with a group called The Nightshades, who are sort of a garage/mod sixties throwback project. That’s a lot of fun. Drumming for me is usually… I’ll do a drum gig if it’s a low-pressure situation. I can’t be locked into backing tracks and arps and everything — I don’t have the patience for it right now because I’m so focused on my own stuff. But yeah, that’s a fun project I’m doing.
You mentioned how your drumming style doesn’t really fit with The Ritualists. Had you attempted to do it in the beginning?
Christian Dryden: With The Ritualists? Well, no. I mean, that was the other thing — I discovered in high school that the singing drummer thing doesn’t really work. I tried it in high school bands, but eventually I got out from behind the drum set and grabbed the next most rhythmic instrument, which was the bass.
So yeah, I tracked drums on the second Ritualists record out of necessity — we needed a drummer. It was in the middle of the pandemic, and I was driving into Times Square every day — completely vacant Times Square. It looked like a scene out of Vanilla Sky. I’d walk up to the studio in the middle of Times Square and just track drums. But like I said, stylistically, it’s a stretch for me.
Pre-save “Too Pure to Cure” here. For more info on The Ritualists and to purchase past music, vist theritualists.com.
