Many artists address love, heartbreak and relationships in their songs. From the moments of euphoria after having found their perfect partner, to the sadness or desolation that comes after a breakup, there are many approaches that this emotion takes on in the form of singles. Some creatives are able to transform this feeling into something personal through sound, managing to narrate their own or someone’s story in a unique way. Nashville-based rock singer/songwriter Rutherford Royal belongs to this last group, and his recently released EP Bleak serves as a record of his personal struggle to connect.
“Each track presents as a cameo which is an attempt at describing times when I have felt lost in the liminal spaces of bachelorhood or failing relationships,” Rutherford Royal says when asked about his new six-track EP, which he refers to as “a series of misunderstandings about love.” Hailing from the barrier islands of South Carolina, the artist starts from his own experiences to shape an EP with which he allows us to get to know him better, keeping a deep connection with the land and embodying a non- traditionalist's interpretation of the eastern South.

“Though the lyrics take plenty of artistic liberties, the songs themselves are true experiences,” he adds about the tracks we find on this EP: Let Me In, Bleak, Lords & Ladies, Keep It Between Us, Summer Heat and Back Burner. One more demonstration of the healing powers of music, which let us express what we feel or share our personal experiences, and find answers to many questions in the form of a universal language that has no borders.