A new project from Zach Lane Bryan… However, don’t get your hopes up, as the waiting period until it reaches your ears is quite lengthy.
Zach Bryan has announced and teased a few projects over the last year, but none of them have had release dates associated with them until now. Last night, July 17th, Zach Bryan announced his project, With Heaven On Top, is slated for a January release.
“January 9th!!!!”
Back in February, Zach Bryan announced that he would be releasing an EP titled “With Heaven On Top.”
ZB took to Instagram to share a music update that wasn’t about a record, but promised an EP would be coming soon. Sharing a snippet of a song that sounds very Bon Iver-inspired, ZB tagged Real Estate, Keenan O’Meara, Hannah Lynn Cohen, and Ana Monwah Lei, who all appear to be featured on the snippet of the track. The track features beautiful string melodies and lyrics with a whimsical yet heartbreaking feel. The multipart harmonies coat your ears.
While bragging about these musicians as the best of all time, he then shares a sentence that discloses the name of a forthcoming EP, which features the same name as a song he’s previously teased, “With Heaven On Top.”
“‘With Heaven On Top’ the EP is out sooner than not.”
I guess “sooner than not” means nearly a year later. However, the way ZB announced this had me questioning whether it would be a record or a few-track EP. We know that since re-signing with Warner Records, his deal includes releasing at least two more studio records, so could this be one of them?
Time will tell.
While fans are still waiting for ZB to release the teased track “With Heaven On Top,” he is satisfying the craving for new music by releasing a different single. Last week, Bryan announced that he was dropping a new single, “Madeline,” right on the heels of releasing the three-song EP that featured “Streets of London,” “Song For You,” and “River Washed Hair.”
Four new songs from Zach Bryan this July… I’ll take it.
For the new single, Zach Bryan enlists Gabriella Rose, the viral voice behind “Doublewide.” The pairing of Rose’s voice with Bryan gives “Madeline” a soft and airy feeling sonically. The feeling of their vocals paired together softens the blow of the heartbreaking lyrics. The song depicts a man who is tied up with a past lover, named Madeline.
“Well, oh, Madeline, how you been? I’ve been waiting ’round to die again
Well, I saw all your friends and you weren’t there
And here’s a picture of us holding up a pitcher of our favorite beer
I’m tryna slow down this year, they can’t hold it like we used to”
As Zach Bryan wrestles with his feelings over a beer, admitting that he’s been living a low-quality life without her, the point of view shifts when Gabriella Rose enters during the second verse. Rose, who portrays Madeline, feels the same and longs to reconnect with the incredible love she lost.
“I ain’t never felt this lonely as I do tonight in this nice hotel
Twelve hundred miles from that shit motel you kissed me softly in
Well, I heard you been on the road, West Coast, just song singing
Are you coming home again? ‘Cause I’d like to see you smile
If you feel inclined, don’t be dying on just anyone
‘Cause I’m the only one that gets to call you home”
The song is beautifully heartbreaking, something that Bryan excels at, and I think fans will quickly resonate with the meaning.
While we’ve got a long wait until we hear With Heaven On Top, at least Zach Bryan is giving us quality singles to hold us over.
Check it out:
