(New York, NY) Exploring themes of love and loss, the experience of being an inflatable doll, the nostalgia of hopeful youth, and the eventual descent into madness while grappling with the ramifications of climate change, Eddy Lee Ryder‘s new EP, Blue Hour, will be released on September 15, 2023. The latest single, “Holy Sh*t I Love You,” was born out of a cataclysmic heartbreak that resulted in two albums worth of material.
“Hoping to make sense of a breakup, I attempted to write a classic lyric in the style of Paul Simon, but being in a dark place, the lyric came out with a much different tone and with the end reflecting a darker Bonnie & Clyde-esque journey,” Ryder says. “It ended up being a murder ballad I didn’t intend to write, reflecting the delusional brand of love I once had. It wasn’t a story I needed to tell but an emotion I needed to share.”
The stage name of NY-based singer-songwriter Liz Brennan, Eddy Lee Ryder’s music paints languid, sadly beautiful portraits of love and life on the margins with the moody and satirical depth of Father John Misty and the country-influenced textures of Roy Orbison or Glen Cambel but with a captivating voice all on her own. Lonesome as she is wild, Ryder has spent the last three years with no permanent address. A nomad who lost her father unexpectedly as a teen, she says, “I really lost my sense of home then. I picked up a guitar and taught myself to play. Ever since, music has been my outlet, my escape. It’s how I cope.”
Ryder’s formative years were spent in upstate NY, where she became fascinated with classic rock, country music, and the old timers that belonged to a different era. With those influences, she creates haunting songs that tell dramatic stories through a slightly warped lens. Her unconventional approach to songwriting explodes and sparkles with ’70s good-time rock riffs, moody piano, and complex poetry that unfolds in an arresting rock opera.
The songs on Blue Hour were originally intended for an upcoming LP; however, they didn’t quite fit as that album came to fruition. “I lovingly and jokingly refer to these songs as my ‘reject’ songs,” she laughs, “But they are some of my favorites, including ‘Holy Sh*t I Think I Love You,’ which is my overall favorite song I’ve ever written.” Collaborating with producer Joshua Sadlier-Brown, Ryder crafted a collection with a wide variety of influences that stands on its own while teasing listeners with a taste of what to expect on the forthcoming full-length.
Blue Hour will be released on September 15, 2023.
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