Supernumeraries finds Ezra Williams reflecting on things gone but not forgotten

It is a record of vulnerability and introspection, making it unsurprising that it was written and mostly self-produced by Williams, with help from close friends along the way. To set the scene: keeping the circle small, they recorded the album at various friend's houses and at the bottom of their parent’s garden in Greystones. Here, Williams brought together a 12-track showcase of songs written throughout their life, engaging in the breakdown of both romantic and platonic relationships and the deep-rooted feelings they were left with in the end. Supernumeraries comes from a place near and dear to its creator, with each track acting as a small piece of their past in song form.

There is a tactile quality to the song titles which is highly intriguing on first listen. With names like “Skin”, “Bleed”, “Babyteeth”, and “My Nose” all being things that make up the human body, it is slightly unnerving, yet makes this an album full of experiences familiar to all. The title Supernumeraries stems from the excess of teeth Williams had as a child, due to a condition called hyperdontia. After holding onto these teeth for a large portion of their childhood, they are now nowhere to be found. This realisation later became the inspiration for the record- a depiction of something that was once part of you, now being erased from your reality.

Williams leads with a heavenly tenderness on “Skin”, bearing a similar sweetness to the vocals of Clairo. The blend of their soft vocals with the DIY quality the lo-fi production successfully delivers gives their music a classic yet modern feel. Full of emotion and sentimentality, they demonstrate a deep attachment to the past through their lyricism, using speech to connect the dots between the past and present.

Expanding on the meaning behind “Skin”, Williams voices that; “This song is about trying to start dating again after heartbreak, the comparing of new people to past and accidentally falling back into bad habits from previous relationships.”

At its core, Supernumeraries is a record of love. Although not in its most typical form, they share conversations on both the ups and downs experienced in romantic and platonic relationships and the anxieties and strong feelings tied up into these connections. As someone whose queerness, gender identity and neurodiversity play a significant role in their expression as an artist, they are actively contributing to a space which champions love stories from outside the binary.