Ryan Woods' 'how i'm feeling' Is an Ode to the Anxieties of Adulthood
Making music looks wildly different now than it did before. The bedroom records, streaming takeover, and personalized listenership has many believing that "we're in the midst of the second Renaissance," as Ryan Woods told Love In a Movie. And Woods is a part of that renaissance.
The 20-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer began releasing music last year and just a few days into the new year, Woods released, how i'm feeling, a catchy yet confessional four-song EP. As Woods explains on Instagram, the release is not only his first fully self-produced project, but it is also "an ode to depression and anxiety, as well as growing up and beginning to see and feel the darkness of the world first hand as an adult," as he candidly serenades us through his thoughts and feelings.
The release kicks off with the title track and a gorgeous folky guitar, piano sprinkles, and panned vocals singing the lyric, "Overthinking / What's the meaning of it all? / One day I'll find out." The bass comes in with falsetto vocal layers, before acoustic guitar strums queue spacey arpeggios, a full drum kit, and an electric guitar. The guitar-driven sonic bursts throughout Woods' music tie back to his earliest influences, which include Queen, Bruno Mars and John Mayer.
how i'm feeling also includes three previously released tracks, including "Bad Texter," Woods' first release which came out last June and has amassed almost three million streams on Spotify, alone. The tune features an '80s synth arpeggio, bass stabs, and tasty guitar licks. The pre-chorus is driven by a rhythmic eight note vocal cadence, which launches an anthemic chorus that will have you jamming along, as Woods confesses he's a bad texter.
Woods says playing and creating music is his biggest distractor from being tapped into his phone, a sentiment embodied in the song's lyric video, which features the artist immersively producing and focusing on his craft, with no phone in sight.
The next track, "Pillow," will also have you singing along to its '80s synth breakdowns and pulsing guitar. As Woods explains, the song is about him meeting a girl at a party - an interaction that made him realize he felt lonely. After all, "There's No Insurance For a Broken Heart," a notion Woods sings us through in the EP's final track.
The song begins with an acoustic waltz and gorgeous melody as Woods admits, "I'm scared you'll drive me and I'll fall apart." The explosive chorus will have you swaying into the existential declaration, "And what if all the stars combust /...And all our dreams are turned to dust /...Cause we're all gonna die," which queues a beautifully brimming release and moody electric guitar before a soft, thoughtful, and equally graceful outro concludes how i'm feeling.
Through his honest artistry, Woods certainly and entrancingly portrays how he's feeling. And we're thankful he can confide in us all.
Listen to how i'm feeling below:
