My Dead Air – “Holding On” (audio) (premiere)

A former guitarist in ’00s alt-rock band Until June, Dan Ballard set off on his own, launching a project called My Dead Air, which yielded the self-titled debut album in 2011. Four years later he’s back with a new album The Thief Who Knows My Name ready to come out this summer, led by a sumptuous slice of ’70s AM radio pop in the form of the single “Holding On”, which we’re pleased to premiere today.

“The music for ‘Holding On’ was written nine months before I even knew what it was going to be about,” Ballard tells PopMatters. “All of the songs on the new record are very specific stories. I knew this was a special song so I decided to hold out writing the lyrics until something moved me to write about. I’m fan of leaving the listener to decide and create what the songs mean. I especially love to hear people tell me what they think it’s about and what it means to them. I do on occasion share the stories that inspire the songs. ‘Holding On’ came about after my brother and I had been sitting in his apartment in Los Angeles one night last fall. We were having drinks and talking about life, growing up and the past. My brother and I have been in bands together most of our lives and we’re very close. When you’re that close to someone it’s inevitable that you’ll hold grudges, disagree, have arguments and sometimes say things you shouldn’t have (especially after drinks). That night was no exception. The next day I spoke to my brother over the phone on my way into the studio, we laughed thinking about the evening and I instantly thought, ‘There’s my story.’”

The Thief Who Knows My Name will be released 14 August.