Keith Wallen - Summer Sunday (Official Video)

Keith Wallen - Summer Sunday (Official Video)

Keith Wallen Breaks into Intimate Pop with “Summer Sunday”

Nothing
breaks the mold like a celebrated rock guitarist releasing
tender, moody pop songs. Switching genres as an artist is one thing –
that happens all the time
– but balancing multiple worlds and sonic identities at once is an
endeavor seldom attempted, and rarely achieved. Yet what’s truly
stunning about Breaking Benjamin’s Keith Wallen is how well he owns his
pop sound: Intimate and ethereal, Wallen’s new single “Summer Sunday”
envelops listeners in heavy waves of warm, synth-glazed alt-pop.




I remember July


The sun hitting your eyes


For the first time


Through the wayfarer glass


By happenstance


We were polarized



Best known for being Breaking Benjamin’s guitarist and backing
vocalist since their reformation in 2014, Wallen originally hails from
West Virginia and likes to describe music as being in his DNA: Before
Breaking Benjamin, he co-founded Tennessee rock band Copper and later
spent five years as guitarist band backing vocalist for Las Vegas rock
band Adelitas Way.





So yes, music is definitely in Keith Wallen’s blood – but
never, in the nearly twenty years that he’s been releasing music, has
Wallen seemed so vulnerable, expressing himself through powerfully
reflective, diary-entry lyrics and pulsing, provocative ‘pop’ sounds.




As the waves crashed down


Like our bodies on the sand


And time slept us away



“Summer Sunday” finds Wallen dwelling in the bosom of past love:
“The
whole idea around ‘Summer Sunday’ was to try and write a song about the
nostalgia and magic of young love, and that sometimes it doesn’t last
forever,” he tells Atwood Magazine. “The idea that nothing else matters
except living in that moment of love, freedom, and invincibility.”





Wallen’s concept is fully realized in the poignant buoyance of the
song’s chorus. He sings, looking back not in anger, nor remorse – but
rather, acceptance and appreciation for that which once was:


It was never my intention


to get ya


Wrapped in a hot sun bleach haze


When made me crazy


We were not afraid


Just star crossed runaways


No looking back now


Lost in the charade


On a summer Sunday



In contrast to his work with Breaking Benjamin – which admittedly
includes his lush vocals, albeit in a supporting role rather than out
front and center – Wallen’s solo work embraces deep swells and rich
melodies, dwelling in the spaces in-between as though silence itself
were an instrument. His emotive, polished vocals fill the air with
tension and turbulence as synth pads surround and encapsulate his words,
intensifying his lyrics and adding pressure to his every breath.







Like yesterday


We fell so hard that


Stars formed in our name


Too young to care


Truth or dare


Sooner or later it came to a end



All in all, Keith Wallen seems to fit perfectly into the alt-pop
world, his ethereal synth-laced sound recalling the likes of Atwood
favorites Handsome Ghost and the dark pop of British artist-to-watch RXC.
We can’t wait to hear more from Keith Wallen’s solo artistry, and it
will surely be exciting to see how he balances his explorations in pop
with the harder rock stylings of Breaking Benjamin.

Keith Wallen was destined
to create music. Now writing, recording and performing around the world
as guitarist for Breaking Benjamin and as a celebrated solo artist,
Wallen’s drive to share his creative output is embedded in his blood,
bones and soul.

The acoustic/piano-oriented
solo EP demonstrates a different side to Wallen’s musical persona. The
songwriting is nuanced and diverse but no less powerful. He gets most of
his writing done at home, alone with his acoustic guitar and piano.
Oftentimes he doesn’t know whether a composition will end up on a solo
release or with Breaking Benjamin until the song is entirely finished.
The common thread with all of his music is that it comes from his heart.

Listen to ‘Summer Sunday’ here!

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