For dedicated Damien Rice fans, today marks a special day: The moment has finally arrived for Rice’s highly anticipated release, 9, to hit stores in the United States. Though Rice has released a number of B-sides and singles recently, 9 is his first full-length album since O in 2002 – and adoring fans should be happy with this intimate, minimalistically beautiful release.

Hailing from Ireland, Rice has enjoyed success in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom, and many of his songs have been featured in movies such as Closer and television shows such as Lost. Rice’s elusive lyrics and simple music style create a purely individual experience for listeners, allowing them to interpret the music however they choose. This experience continues with 9, a compilation of 10 tracks working together to tell a story about love and loss.

A large portion of the album features Lisa Hannigan, a talented singer who has worked with Rice before (the two released “Unplayed Piano” in 2006, and have collaborated on many other projects), and cellist Vyvienne Long, whose music provides a subtle, tasteful addition to the tracks.

The intertwining voices of Hannigan and Rice – the duo produces a pleasing balance of feminine and masculine – in the track “9 Crimes” create a soft yet powerful image of an unfaithful couple and its fate. Concurrently, the increasing fervor of “Rootless Tree” uses chaotic drums and guitars to depict the raw emotions of anger and desperation.

Rice’s more sullen and melancholy side is evened out by nonsensical, catchy songs such as “Coconut Skins.” Singing along to “No need to know/What you’re doing or waiting for/But if anyone should ask?/Tell them I’ve been licking coconut skins/And we’ve been hanging out” makes you want to get up and dance around the room – and with Rice, preferably.

Perhaps one of the best songs on the album, “Elephant,” is a re-recorded and re-named version of “Blower’s Daughter Part 2,” a former B-side. The song’s instrumentation is almost nonexistent in the beginning, and instead the track focuses on the pain and bitterness of Rice’s voice. Ending in a crash of instruments, “Elephant” proves to be quintessential to the passion that defines 9.

“Accidental Babies” is another album highlight, and pulls the listener into an entirely different world. Even the most faithful can identify with this story of illegitimate lovers, as Rice sings, “But do you really feel alive without me?/If so, be free/If not, leave him for me.” Rice easily balances the grave theme of adultery with a simple piano melody, turning “Accidental Babies” into a complex story of unrequited love.

9 is yet another success for Rice, and marvelously exhibits his sense of harmony and his ability to personify emotion through song. The chemistry between the instrumental arrangements is flawless, as every note, every scream, every pause and every crash of the cymbals is well planned and complementary.

The ability to evoke imagery and truly tell a story just from music is a rare skill and Rice manages to do it with ease in 9. The album is a metaphorical journey of being in love and falling out of it and, above all, embodies the beauty of being truly human in all its glory.

Contact reporter Doris Nhan at nhandbk@gmail.com.