Ryan Adams made poptimists' dreams come true with the release of his full-album cover of Taylor Swift's 1989 last year, but he's venturing a little further back into that same decade for the inspiration on his next record.
The usually alt-country singer-songwriter will release a new album on November 4. The record is currently untitled, but Adams has revealed that it features 11 new tracks —whittled down from an impressive 80, thanks to producer Don Was. Apparently, the new batch of tunes borrows heavily from the sounds of the '80s.
He told Entertainment Weekly that the new material was inspired by the "sonic geography" of Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town and the Smiths' Meat Is Murder, while AC/DC and Bruce Hornsby also served as reference points.
"When I run, I listen to [an iPod] Nano that I have," he said. "I put all the AC/DC records on from back to front, or I'll listen to the best of stuff from the '80s: Springsteen, or Hornsby, and I'll listen to what is going on there. I was listening to AC/DC's Fly on the Wall and that's when I realized what I had to do for the record."
Delving deeper into his well of influences, Adams also cited acts like Bachman-Turner Overdrive and ELO as the source of some guitar experimentation. "I was like, 'Wow! I understand the multicolored guitar tone moments now," he said. "You can layer stuff. I really just learned a lot."
Earlier this month, Adams appeared on KCRW and revealed some more information about the impending album.
"I don't think I've ever worked on anything harder than I have on it, and I'm still working on it, which is amazing," he said. "And I think, probably, it's the most songs I ever wrote for a record and it's the most emotional… whatever this process was, was so cathartic, and was cathartic in a way where I actually made songs where I would listen back to what I had to say and go, 'That is really messed up.' Or listen to something and go, 'There's actual hope in there.' What does that mean? I really let the process become part of me this time."
Hear a snippet from that interview below.
The forthcoming full-length will mark Adams's 16th studio album. His last all-original LP was 2014's self-titled effort.
While we await firmer details and sonic samples from the next record, relive Ryans Adams cut "Gimme Something Good" down below and revisit his extensive back catalogue with Exclaim!'s Essential Guide to Ryan Adams over here.
The usually alt-country singer-songwriter will release a new album on November 4. The record is currently untitled, but Adams has revealed that it features 11 new tracks —whittled down from an impressive 80, thanks to producer Don Was. Apparently, the new batch of tunes borrows heavily from the sounds of the '80s.
He told Entertainment Weekly that the new material was inspired by the "sonic geography" of Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town and the Smiths' Meat Is Murder, while AC/DC and Bruce Hornsby also served as reference points.
"When I run, I listen to [an iPod] Nano that I have," he said. "I put all the AC/DC records on from back to front, or I'll listen to the best of stuff from the '80s: Springsteen, or Hornsby, and I'll listen to what is going on there. I was listening to AC/DC's Fly on the Wall and that's when I realized what I had to do for the record."
Delving deeper into his well of influences, Adams also cited acts like Bachman-Turner Overdrive and ELO as the source of some guitar experimentation. "I was like, 'Wow! I understand the multicolored guitar tone moments now," he said. "You can layer stuff. I really just learned a lot."
Earlier this month, Adams appeared on KCRW and revealed some more information about the impending album.
"I don't think I've ever worked on anything harder than I have on it, and I'm still working on it, which is amazing," he said. "And I think, probably, it's the most songs I ever wrote for a record and it's the most emotional… whatever this process was, was so cathartic, and was cathartic in a way where I actually made songs where I would listen back to what I had to say and go, 'That is really messed up.' Or listen to something and go, 'There's actual hope in there.' What does that mean? I really let the process become part of me this time."
Hear a snippet from that interview below.
The forthcoming full-length will mark Adams's 16th studio album. His last all-original LP was 2014's self-titled effort.
While we await firmer details and sonic samples from the next record, relive Ryans Adams cut "Gimme Something Good" down below and revisit his extensive back catalogue with Exclaim!'s Essential Guide to Ryan Adams over here.
