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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe pandemic was particularly hard for The Blue Iris. \u201cIt left me without a job, afraid to go outside, and generally scared for the future,\u201d they confide. Feeling tremendously \u201cstressed about too many things to name and depressed past anything I had felt in years,\u201d the singer-songwriter grabbed a guitar and wrote the appropriately titled \u201cStressed and Depressed.\u201d Premiering today, the song detonates with all the anger, loneliness, and anxiety they were feeling. Even their vocal performance is appropriately combustible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo me this song feels like a timestamp of those first few months of last year,\u201d they tell Audiofemme<\/em>. The song also serves as a direct response to the reception of \u201cBody Regardless<\/a>,\u201d a track that appeared on their Life VS Art LP (released in January 2020). That song depicted \u201chow I felt about coming out as trans and overcoming dysphoria. After its release, I had a lot of wonderful people who came to me and told me how much it meant to them when they heard it,\u201d they explain. \u201cI remember thinking at the time that it was kind of scary to be helping people get through something that I was still struggling with every day.\u201d That\u2019s what inspired the propulsive first line of “Stressed and Depressed”: \u201cHow can I write about getting better, when I can\u2019t get better myself?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich of these lines won\u2019t make it off paper? How many songs won\u2019t leave the shelf?\u201d they continue, uncoiling wonderfully graphic imagery. \u201cSpill my guts out as ink on paper\/Squeeze dry my heart right on this stage\/I\u2019ll clean the blood up later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost of the time when I\u2019m writing I\u2019ll play a few random chords and start almost free-styling vocals over them until I find something that sounds good,” they explain, and “Stressed and Depressed” was no different. “For [this song], I started with some \u201860s folk guitar progressions. I think some of the best songs can be made using a few simple classic chords. The melody also wasn\u2019t really something that I sat around and thought about; for me, those things usually just kind of vibe out as I\u2019m writing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noticeably, the melody drapes around a more clearly defined punk bravado, rather than folk. The bridge, in which they howl \u201cmaybe all that I need is rest,\u201d owes largely to bands like Taking Back Sunday \u2500 \u201cfor showing me that repeating the same thing over and over is the best way to get your point across. Sometimes I just want to play a few chords very quickly and yell about my feelings over the top of them, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside the single drop, The Blue Iris has announced a brand new lathe cut, double-sided 7\u201d vinyl single with artwork created by Julian Colas and Wren Crain, sold exclusively via the Blue Iris’s Bandcamp<\/a>. Side A contains \u201cSomething\u2019s Wrong<\/a>,\u201d the first single released late 2020, with \u201cStressed and Depressed\u201d on Side B. Limited to an edition of 50, 30 will feature standard release art and the remaining 20 will include special-edition b-side artwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe loud electric in your face full band performance of \u2018Something\u2019s Wrong\u2019 is met with colorful photos and art,\u201d The Blue Iris notes of the packaging. \u201cAt the same time, the mostly acoustic track \u2018Stressed and Depressed\u2019 is paired with a colorless dark artwork.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally from Indiana, the multi-instrumentalist first began playing music when they were 12. Bass guitar came first, and then ukulele, acoustic guitar, keys, and harmonica, among a slew of other instruments. To be quite honest, they\u2019re a bit of a musical savant; nothing is off limits, and their creativity knows no bounds. \u201cI think I started writing my own music right away, but I don\u2019t think I really knew what I was doing until I was maybe 16,\u201d they reflect. \u201cIt was all about having fun and doing something that felt good with my closest friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy early writing was not great, and honestly, it\u2019s nothing like what I\u2019m doing now. I think my current writing style really came through when I graduated high school,\u201d they continue. \u201cI was in and out of a few bands throughout my life, but a group\/collaborative writing style is a lot different than doing solo music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time they were 21, they were creating music under the artist name Hollyweed and performed various small shows and festivals in the Midwest. \u201cI feel like I went through a lot of music phases in my life,\u201d they remark. An obsession with \u201890s alternative, \u201870s rock, \u201880s pop, and early-aughts emo all directly feed into their new musical form, flying across melodies with a lion-like pounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I take a look at the kind of music I feel the most connected to now, there are a few big artists that come to mind,\u201d they offer. Names like Jeff Rosenstock, Ezra Furman, Kind of Like Spitting, Against Me!, and Radiator Hospital rise to the top of the list, alongside a host of others, including Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs Elliott Smith, and Daniel Johnston. \u201cI find them just as impactful as they were when I first heard them. Truthfully, after thinking this over, I find myself taking solace in more artists than I even realized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through the many years writing and recording, the biggest creative shift happened primarily through their \u201clyrical style and musical ability. The more songs I write, the more \u2018me\u2019 they feel. The whole reason I write in the first place is to express my difficult feelings in order to get through them and to share my experiences with others. I don\u2019t think I really figured that out until the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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