New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On May 6, Nashville's Ryan Beaver will release his anticipated new album Rx. This week, NPR
Music premiered the album's closing track "If I Had A Horse" and CMT has premiered the video for his single, "Dark."
Writing in NPR Music, Jewly Hight said "'Horse' concludes Beaver's new album RX, with stark, demo-like vulnerability� The remainder of the dozen tracks perform similarly visceral emotional work, albeit with a livelier combination of
Music Row proficiency, singer-songwriter/ roots-rock earthiness and digital punch.
Stream "If I Had A Horse" via YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLIZYTqn68I
Today, CMT premiered the video for "Dark," the first single to be released from Rx. Watch here: https://www.cmt.com/videos/ryan-beaver/1346357/dark.jhtml
Rx, which Beaver co-produced with longtime compadres Jeremy Spillman and Ryan Tyndell (both of whom have worked with Eric Church,
Nikki Lane, and
Little Big Town), makes it abundantly clear why Ryan Beaver has already been widely acclaimed as an artist to watch.
Rolling Stone recently named him one of "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know," and he's received acclaim from the likes of Lee Ann Womack, Maren Morris,
Kacey Musgraves and Ashley Monroe, with whom he's toured as an opening act.
Late last year, Stereogum premiered his single "Dark" and called it "the strongest country song I've hear all year." The track became the imputus for the writing and recording of the album, and stemmed from a challenging time in his life when he lost his grandfather, a close friend, a subsequently a relationship in a short period of time.
"Writing 'Dark' really shook me, and really woke me up," he says. "I think I needed to hear those words more than anybody, and I realized that if I felt that way, maybe others would. I got super excited, and I thought, 'OK, I think I'm onto something here, this is a path that I want to take.'
"Singing 'I ain't afraid of the dark' is as simple as it gets, and anybody can understand what it means. That's me trying to be an adult and trying to figure out how to deal with the real world. It's really simple, but getting yourself to the point where you're able to express things that simply is a challenge, and it something I aspire to. That's what Hank Williams did, and it's what
Tom Petty does: express these complicated emotions in everyday language that everyone can understand. That's my goal."
Tour Dates:
4/16: Savannah, GA - The Southbound Brewery %
4/20: Fort Worth, TX - The Capital Bar
4/22: Austin, TX - Lamberts
4/29: Jacksonville, FL - Mavericks %
5/5: New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
5/7: Philadelphia, PA - Milkboy Philly
5/10: Nashville, TN - The Basement East (Album Release Show)
5/11: Decatur, GA - Eddie's Attic
% - with JJ Grey & Mofro
Track List:
1) Dark
2) Rum & Roses
3) Fast
4) When This World Ends
5) Jesus Was A Capricorn
6) Kristofferson
7) Habit
8) Vegas
9) Gravedigger
10) Still Yours
11) RX
12) If I Had A Horse