Until now, an artist’s name hasn’t typically given any insight into the type of music they release. Similar to how a book couldn’t be judged by it’s cover, a band couldn’t be judged by their name. But a new name to the scene, LVRBOY, is a self-proclaimed “Sad-Boy” who is using his name to completely represent who he is, and the themes within his music.
The Nashville based singer/songwriter wants to make sure that when people see the name LVRBOY, they know exactly what they’re getting. “I want people to be like ‘I know this is going to be a sad song, look at his name.’ or ‘I know this is going to be a song about love, look at his name,’” he tells heirwaves.
Having previously toured and put on music under a different name, there was immense pressure to follow the americana/folk music path that had been seemingly laid out for him in Nashville. Upon beginning to delve into the pop field, that path was difficult to stray from. “I was writing these songs I had this vision for, but then all these pop country writers were making them into pop country songs,” he says, noting that he knew that was not what he wanted to do.
While seeing a girl in New York at the time, he decided it was the right opportunity to take a break from Nashville and see what the NYC music scene had to offer. “I literally sat there with my acoustic guitar as quiet as I could in my apartment building,” he says with discontent, “It served it’s purpose creatively.”
His time in New York allowed him to discover who he wanted to be, and how to express that in the music he was creating. Upon returning to Nashville last year, he approached his producer with the vision for his new project: LVRBOY. “I was like, I want it to be super hopeless romantic, and very very ‘sad boy,’” he says, adding that his producer ultimately responded, “dude, that’s you already.”
The LVRBOY name has allowed him to separate himself from his past and given him a fresh start creatively, but he notes that it’s really just an extension of his truest self. “The name on it is just kind of telling people that don’t know me, who I am,” he says.
Behind the name, he has been able to dive deeper into heavier personal topics that are much more vulnerable for him. “I’ve struggled with depression in the past,” he admits, continuing that the loss of his father at 19 was a contributing factor. “Those little shots of depression come back every once in a while,” he explains, “there’s that sad side that I can touch on.” He adds that these topics that he’s writing about, and that he’s gone through, are the same ones that most people are dealing with in their daily lives – entirely unfiltered.
With his previous project, he was always asked to balance out those sadder songs with something brighter, but he knew what wasn’t who he was. LVRBOY has allowed him the freedom to not only dive headfirst into those sad songs, but to own them, citing Lauv and LANY as key influences on the theme and style of his new music.
“I can’t think of any happy songs off the top of my head that I like right now… there’s people out there that just like sad songs,” he says – quick to add that there will be love songs, breakup songs, and songs about how much he loves to be in love as well.
While listening to preview of his new music – there is something entirely captivating about the ownership of the sad-boy mentality, and how he uses that to create something so powerful that brilliantly, and unapologetically expresses exactly what’s going on in his mind. The songs are laced with catchy and complex pop elements that allow the listener to relate an exact scenario and feeling from their own life, and immerse themselves within his lyrics.
LVRBOY is ready to hit the ground running with his debut single expected to drop early this fall, followed by one more single this year, and a full-length 14-song record on the horizon in 2020. “This is all me,” he says, “this is what I was put on this earth to do.”
Follow LVRBOY: Instagram // Facebook // Website
Catch LVRBOY opening for Brasko on September 18th at Mercy Lounge in Nashville, and September 20th at Musica in Akron.
heirwaves 