Used to spill it all, now we hardly speak and the anxious thoughts got me losin’ sleep – is there something I don’t know?
It’s about 6am and I have my headphones in walking to the gym at my apartment complex.
I never used to be much of a morning person – got switched from closing shifts to openings a while back. I used to write stuff or shoot stuff a few times a week. But it’s been about a year since I’ve done anything. So twelve-ish months, a different work schedule and two apartments later, here we are.
It was 64° yesterday when the sun was coming up and I scraped ice off my windshield this morning to go get coffee; you never really know what you’re going to get, and sometimes you don’t know what you have.
With his newest single released under his project Speak Low, Ryan Scott Graham pens a track focused on the uncertainty that can come with the things we experience every day and how we’re forced to deal with them; sometimes we change things and sometimes things just change.
Sidestepping from his role as bassist for pop-punk powerhouse State Champs, Graham channels the softer side of casual angst and anxieties. Similar to another “more somber side side-project” from a scene veteran, the track is more Aaron West than The Wonder Years, and is a perfect fit for this time of year when the changing seasons refuse to pick a side. Bright and upbeat while also cool and calm, “One Good Look” explores the questions that don’t always have answers –
“What happened to the person I knew who fell out of a dream?” … “Where did it all go? / What happened to the person I knew, are you there just underneath?”
In the same vein as some of my current heavy rotation – acts like Cameron Whitcomb, Evan Honer, Tortured Poet-era Taylor, etc., there’s sunny pop charm in an overcoat on “One Good Look.” There’s heart, but there’s hurt; there’s a curiosity but it’s cautious.
Graham’s soft and sooting vocals coupled with lo-fi instrumentals combine for a calm stroll through treacherous terrain.
“One Good Look” aligns perfectly for when things feel like they’ve fallen out of line.
You can watch the “One Good Look” on YouTube and the single is currently available via all streaming services.