Best known as The Verve’s charismatic frontman, Richard Ashcroft has approached his solo work as a philosopher, digging deep into inward pain and universal suffering on ambitious alt-rock requiems that touch on—but ultimately move past—the nihilism of his former band’s biggest hit, “Bitter Sweet Symphony.” After becoming a bona fide ‘90s superstar with The Verve, Ashcroft (born in 1971 in Wigan, England) stepped into the 21st century alone, releasing his 2000 solo debut, Alone With Everybody, a romantic orchestral-rock collection highlighted by the soaring single “A Song for the Lovers.” As the 2000s progressed, so did his idealism, with his 2002 spiritual-awakening set, Human Conditions, and 2006’s triumphant, string-laden Keys to the World. After a brief reunion with The Verve in 2007, Ashcroft aimed for stadium success on his own with the short-lived RPA & The United Nations of Sound and two anthemic pop-rock albums in 2016’s These People and 2018’s Natural Rebel. By 2021, he took another sharp turn, going unplugged for Acoustic Hymns, Vol. 1, a stripped-down compilation of his life’s greatest work (thus far).