Photo by Stephen Albanese
(COLUMBUS, OH) -- Indie rock stalwarts Red Wanting Blue have released the title track to their much-anticipated thirteenth studio album, the plaintively honest and self-aware song, "Light It Up". The self-produced album is set for release on June 7, 2024 via Blue Élan Records.
“Light It Up,” is easily the most personal and thoughtful song on the album, hence the reason it also became the title of the album. Written in 2020, during the global lockdown, lead singer Scott Terry faced a choice: Lean into the dark or look for the light.
“Stuck in my Brooklyn apartment, I was feeling conflicted… lost without the forward movement of touring while also being grateful for the time with my family. I often found myself in the unfinished, cavernous basement of my converted factory building, spending strange hours singing to the brick walls, wrestling with the thoughts in my head. Most of New York City moved out, so do I move? Will music return in the same way, do I change careers? The loudest voice in my head said to stay the course… you’re a singer and a songwriter, so write your way out of this,” Terry admits.
“’Light it Up’ was born out of a dark, empty industrial basement as a beacon of hope, light and direction," he explained. “The song serves as a lighthouse for those lost in the dark. It quickly became the keystone of our new album. Light is something that we usually find, but it’s easy to forget that it’s something you can also make… so, if things are feeling dark and you can’t find that light, do what we did…and make it for yourself.”
Indeed, Light It Up, Red Wanting Blue’s triumphant new LP, feels like the start of a distinctly new chapter for the indie rock stalwarts, one built on complete and total creative liberation. Recorded in the hard-touring quintet’s native Ohio and produced for the first time by the band itself, the collection is a larger-than-life ode to hope and perseverance, a celebration of the fire we carry within and the commitment that keeps us going even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. The songs are all interconnected here, woven together through intros and outros and interludes that help propel them on a metaphorical journey through the dark of night, and the performances are as muscular as they are meticulous, fueled by addictive hooks and exhilarating instrumental work that shines on an even footing with Terry’s rich and magnetic vocals.
Red Wanting Blue is: Scott Terry (Vocals, Tenor Guitar, Baritone Ukulele); Mark McCullough (Bass, Chapman Stick, Vocals); Greg Rahm (Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals); Eric Hall (Guitar, Lap Steel, Vocals); and Dean Anshutz (Drums & Percussion).
Hailed as “Midwestern rock heroes” by American Songwriter, Red Wanting Blue has spent the better part of last three decades on the road, blazing their own unique trail through the American heartland and landing appearances everywhere from Letterman to NPR, garnering praise from the likes of Rolling Stone and Esquire, and climbing to #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart along the way.
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