Ryan Wright “Quarter Life Crisis”

Virginia-based singer/songwriter/producer Ryan Wright creates songs that don’t make sense on paper–an ethereal voice singing angsty lyrics over confectionary synth-driven hooks. Her lyrics–at times profane, often tongue-in-cheek, occasionally devastating–reveal a searing wit and a sensitive heart. Her arresting voice embodies the kind of teenage heartache that is deeply personal and yet universal and timeless.

Her latest single, “Quarter Life Crisis” marks a new direction for Wright, as she ventures from clean indie guitars and crunchy production, married with a Roy Orbison-esque melody, into a bubble grunge sound with punky production and an edge that cuts deep. Heavily influenced by female artists like Mitski, Momma, Veruca Salt, and Blondshell, the result is a crossover between the grunge production of the 90s and the very female led category of bubblegum pop.

Wright confides, “Quarter Life Crisis is the very essence of what it feels like to be in your early 20s to mid thirties. Although the age gap is vast, the feelings are mutual because in reality it’s not easy to become an independent adult. The song nurtures the very real feelings of the fear of becoming an adult and falling further and further away from youth. The song has a bit of longing that still clings to the urge to act young and dumb like you did as a teenager, but you’re stuck in your twenties feeling like your life is maturing way faster than you are. Quarter Life Crisis is the anthem for the trials and tribulations of aging.”

“Quarter Life Crisis” is off of her upcoming EP due this summer, where the theme of pessimism rings throughout all of the songs. Wright shares, “All of the lyrics are about conflicted feelings of wanting the good but hoping for the worst at the same time, wanting to feel secure in your relationships and in yourself, but also craving the drama and the downfalls; the trials and tribulations of a narcissist.”

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