Rising from a small city in the American South after growing up in a broken home and now making waves in the music scene, Jeremy Ryan is a classic ‘Cinderella’ musician in the making. But this old-and-worn fairytale leaves much uncovered, a narrative that doesn’t answer the question: what does one do when we find ourselves caught in a story not of our own making, one in which the signs are there, but we cannot read them?
Ryan’s newest single “My Fairytale” deals with exactly this: the disillusionment with the linear, clean narratives we have made out of our lives, the realization that what we have of a story is only empty form, a colorless rainbow and helpless little blind mice that can sew no dresses for us. A directionless story. This is the fairytale more honest to Ryan’s life. One many can resonate with.
Musically, the evocative classic rock guitar pulls the listener step-by-step into this hazy fairytale, set against a steady drum that pulses through the song, giving room to the distorted guitar to move freely without risking loss of direction. The instrumental layers work smoothly with Ryan’s stirring vocals, which emotional authenticity makes up for what the song otherwise lacks.
Both to the song’s advantage and disadvantage, the instrumental work and vocals stand out as the best elements. While the thematic and storytelling concerns are visible and easy to resonate with, too much hinges on the lyrical aspect for the final result. Another round of editing, tightening, and refining the lyrics could have given it a desired additional layer of depth. But as it is, this is a promising turn in Ryan’s musical career, a song that’s comfortable to have on repeat for hours on days in which we feel particularly angsty about our lives.
