Today, American singer/songwriter Ryan Beatty is proud to present his third studio album, ‘Calico’, via Atlantic Records UK/Elektra US. He also shares the album’s visual accompaniment directed by revered Belgian artist, Peter De Potter.
Comprising nine tracks and co-produced by Ryan and Ethan Gruska, Ryan shares the endless nuances of his interior life on his new album, quietly exploring the tension between protecting our hearts and longing for connection that can only come from true vulnerability.
‘Calico’ matches Ryan’s lyrical revelations with a luminously detailed sound that inspires endless fascination despite its great subtlety.
Album opener and previous single, ‘Ribbons’, is a sublimely wistful piece rooted in Gruska’s delicate piano work alongside strings, celestial synth, and hypnotic steel guitar melodies, courtesy of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The song is laced with lovingly rendered images of lonesome sunrises and California freeways.
“What I love about ‘Ribbons’ is that the music says so much on its own,” Ryan points out. “Especially in the last minute, it feels like finally exhaling after holding something in for so long.”
Ryan’s new single ‘Bruises Off The Peach’ overflows with delightful melodies and lush harmonies, underpinning an exceptional vocal performance from the young Californian artist. The dreamlike and gently haunting ‘Hunter’ – where the album takes its title from – marked a significant breakthrough for Ryan in accessing the unfettered openness that infuses all of ‘Calico’.
Conveyed with poetic specificity and stunning directness, openness manifests in a vast expanse of lyrical forms, each presented in his stark and softly emotive vocals.
For ‘Calico’, Ryan and Ethan mainly recorded at historic Valentine Recording Studios and Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La, working with a lineup of musicians including guitarist Dylan Day (Jenny Lewis, Laura Veirs), drummer Matt Chamberlain (Lorde, Brandi Carlile), saxophonist Sam Gendel (Sylvan Esso, Perfume Genius), string arranger Rob Moose (FKA twigs, Laura Marling), and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, who contributed additional production and instrumentation.
Mixed by Shawn Everett (The War on Drugs, HAIM), Calico moves further into the free-form yet gracefully sculpted sound Ryan explored on 2020’s ‘Dreaming of David’. Ryan embraced a deliberately slow-paced and often meditative process throughout the making of ‘Calico’. He made his way to the kind of confidence and conviction that leaves a profound imprint on audiences and artist alike. The result is a timeless and transportive body of work, providing abundant space for the transformation and healing that led to its creation.
‘Calico’ by Ryan Beatty is out now via Atlantic Records UK/Elektra US,
‘Calico’ Tracklist:
1. Ribbons
2. Bruises Off The Peach
3. Cinnamon Bread
4. Andromeda
5. Bright Red
6. Hunter
7. White Teeth
8. Multiple Endings
9. Little Faith
Stream and download ‘Calico’ here. Watch the video for ‘Calico’ here. Stream ‘Bruises Off The Peach’ here.
