In the fall of 2020 I was deep on a 2am quest for new music on Spotify and I stumbled upon Ryan Hall’s song THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS. I immediately added it to my playlist and started listening through every song he had out at the time. I quickly realized I had stumbled upon an underrated gem who quickly became one of my new favorite artists.
With a unique vocal tone that falls somewhere between brakence, Jeremy Zucker, and EDEN, lyrics that are both poetic and accessible, and a natural ear for tasteful instrumentation and production, Ryan Hall is definitely an artist whose success is inevitable.
At only 19, the Atlanta based singer/songwriter/producer/ graphic designer has already released three EPs: give me peace!, CHASING BUTTERFLIES, & CANDY CORN which are filled with highly underrated indie pop gems, all sonically diverse, tastefully experimental, yet still cohesive.
His latest release FRIENDS is an indie pop anthem aiming to normalize casually making out with your friends.
With lines like “You kissed me in your mom’s car last night,” and “Lips on fire like arson White Ferrari, that’s our song,” FRIENDS is an innocent twist on the classic friends with benefits scenario wondering aloud “why can’t we be friends that makeout sometime?”
The song came about in the summer of 2021 after a conversation in the car with his friends where they all came to the conclusion that it should be okay to platonically make out with your friend sometimes. That night he went home and wrote the entire song off of that one idea. Based off of true events, the song follows his emotions as he processes and romanticizes the excitement of blurring the lines within a friendship.
Sonically inspired by indie pop acts like COIN, Dayglow, and Grouplove, FRIENDS is the perfect track to scream-sing in your car on your way home from hanging out with your friend you have a secret crush on, or even to play for them if you want to tell them how you feel without telling them how you feel.
With plenty of other releases on the horizon for 2022, Ryan is certainly an artist you want to be keeping up with this year! Check out Ryan’s music below and be sure to follow him on instagram, tiktok, and twitter!
