Inland Years Interview: “I didn’t expect anyone outside of a few close friends to even hear it”

The story of the artist’s struggle is a common one, but these days perhaps it’s for different reasons. It’s been said several times throughout these pages, but with more new music now than ever and so few writers to talk about it, the struggle has shifted to the point where most artists are now completely weighed down by the numbers.

How does one combat the struggle? Probably not by upping their social media game, and definitely not by engaging PRs to hassle journalists with generic missives shoehorned into Mail Chimp. Sometimes it’s simple: just write good songs.

That’s what Ryan Daniels does, and under the Inland Years moniker, he’s fourth album, Keep Your Eyes on the Road, is one of the feel good stories to emerge from the underground this year.

There’s been a slew of jangle-orientated acts to spawn from the woodwork this year, but most haven’t produced something as immediate and fleeting as Daniels has with Keep Your Eyes on the Road. 13 songs at 17 minutes, alongside Merseyside’s Pete Power, the Brooklyn-based songwriter has delivered some of the best representations of lo-fi this year.

Through song, Daniels presents a smorgasbord of emotions. It’s all heart-on-sleeve, with honesty (Better Off on My Own, That Day), brutal emptiness (Alone), rumination (When is the Right Time, Got Too Much to Do), compassion (Make You Feel Better), sunlight (There’s Nothing Bad About You), and everything in between (Fools Paradise), as Daniels zeroes in on the key fundamentals of lo-fi.

If you want to start your day on a high, then Keep Your Eyes on the Road is the ticket; Daniels, producing the kind of songcraft that has a strange uplifting quality about it, inspiring you to tackle whatever the day throws your way.

Earlier this month, Daniels answered some questions about his journey as Inland Years, his writing process, and more.

Sun 13: Do you remember the moment when you first heard a piece of music that really spoke to you?

Ryan Daniels: “Oh yes, I’ve had so many different moments like that throughout my life. 

“We didn’t have a lot of records in my house as a kid, but I remember singing along to the radio all the time with my mom. I loved ’50s and ’60s music, but one really early memory I have was singing along to Laura Branigan’s Gloria while driving in the car. It was being played nonstop because we were just about to get hit by a hurricane with the same name. 

“We were singing at the top of our lungs and it was fun, but at the same time people were boarding up their windows getting ready for a disaster. 

“So while that ’80s cheese song didn’t speak to me the same way hearing Brian Eno’s The Big Ship did much later in life, it was the first time I realised music could change you. Either by making you feel better, worse or in my example entrancing you so much you forget the world around you.”

S13: Have your early influences stayed with you, or have they changed over the years?

RD: “They’ve stayed. I’ve gone full circle. When I first started buying music on my own, I picked up things like Buddy Holly, Dion and the Belmonts, The Beach Boys, Hendrix or The Ventures and tried to play along. 

“Drums were my first instrument, so I started with lines like In My Life by The Beatles that were on the simpler side but eventually found myself in love with Mitch Mitchell’s style and the almost punk drumming of Mel Taylor on The Ventures Live in Japan ’65. 

“By the time Nirvana came around, I switched to guitar. Then played bass touring in hardcore, metal and screamo bands. Then synth and minimal techno when I moved to New York but eventually came back to the ’60s stuff. 

“I have a huge love for The Byrds (all eras). It’s not their best record by any means, but the fully acoustic versions of You Won’t Have to Cry or You Showed Me on Preflyte in a lot of ways became the archetype for Inland Years songs. Stripped down 12-string guitar strumming, bongos, tambourine and vocal harmonies. Perfection.” 

S13: How did the Inland Years project begin?

RD: “It started during the pandemic as a sanity project. I had been writing and making home recordings for years, but this time I put more guardrails around it. I wanted to write and record a song a month, no matter which way it came out. By late 2021, I was probably writing multiple songs a month so decided to release some to Bandcamp. It caught the attention of Oliver Glenn Records who then released my first cassette.

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S13: In a world where there’s so much new music and it’s more difficult for new artists to be heard, it’s been refreshing to see an album like Keep Your Eyes on the Road receive so much attention. Was this a surprise to you?

RD: “Completely. I didn’t expect anyone outside of a few close friends to even hear it. Seeing it reach radio stations and writers I really respect has been surreal. 

“It was a lifelong dream to be played on WFMU, but then to be played on an NPR affiliate weeks later was mind-blowing. I remember texting my sister to turn the radio on and she replied back with that clip from That Thing You Do where they’re running into the electronics store. It’s been really exciting.” 

“My streaming numbers are another story though, but I’m not really bought into that machine.” 

S13: These songs were said to be written amid the chaos of daily life. How long did they take to write and record?

RD: “Most came fast. I rarely spend more than I need to before calling things finished. Occasionally I’ll write, record and mix a song I’m happy with in a weekend. 

“When I first started, it took longer. Not because I was rusty, but because I was second-guessing myself and what came out was just boring. So only a fraction of what I’ve written the past five years has made it out. Some songs don’t even make it out of the voice memos on my phone, but that’s how it goes. Write, adapt, repeat.”

S13: What was the most vital aspect you wanted to capture with the album?

RD: “For Keep Your Eyes on the Road it was all about movement. Feeling stuck, but you keep going anyway. Then sonically, warm melodies breaking through static.”

S13: Your songs seem to crystallise all the different emotions one goes through each day, which really is essence of lo-fi. Is this something you’ve thought about?

RD: “That is a really amazing observation. I love that, thank you. I honestly hadn’t thought that until now, but yes it does reflect that in a way. 

“I tend to write what I feel and I’m an overthinker, so it’s all over the place. I’ve also dealt with depression most of my life. It’s not something that comes out directly in the songs, but the highs and lows are definitely there.”

S13: Better Off On My Own and Alone feel like a through line from Lou Barlow’s early work in Sebadoh to his later works. Was he close to your thoughts when you wrote those songs?

RD: “No, actually! I’ve gotten that comparison a few times now and I love it, but I was surprisingly never a huge Sebadoh fan. I had to go back to try and hear what others were saying when that first came up. It’s definitely there. Especially with Sentridoh or Lou’s home recording stuff, but it wasn’t top of mind. Subliminal if anything. 

“I will say though I’m a huge Pavement and slacker rock fan. I also grew up in Massachusetts listening to things like Pixies, Buffalo Tom, Lemonheads, O-Positive, Swirlies and of course Dinosaur Jr. So the impression is on me somewhere. Maybe it’s in the water?”

S13: The artwork is very interesting in respect of album title. What was the idea behind it?

RD: “The artist Against Realism created it. They also run the label BSDJ out of Japan that released the record. Their artwork is amazing, isn’t it? They created it while listening to the music and before I had the album title set. Maybe even before I had the song written, since that was one of the last to come together, so any parallels were a beautiful coincidence.

“They took the base photo on a long road trip out in the countryside of Japan on this hilly narrow winding road that goes in and out of the jungle. I usually have a lot of opinions on album art, but this spoke to me right away. They nailed it on the first try. There’s something haunting about the figure at the end of the road. It’s either an inevitable encounter or a distraction while everything around you shifts and melts. I love it.” 

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S13: Do you have a writing process? For example, do you write every day, and are there any specific things you need or surrounded yourself with in order to do so?

RD: “Most of what I write begins on guitar, or on a mandolin if I am traveling. And it’s not every day, but it is often. Writing is a mental pick-me-up for me, so I try to stay close to it and make the most of the time I have, knowing there’s always an interruption not too far away.

“My process is rarely linear. I’ll strum until something catches or I’ll learn a new chord shape to build around. Sometimes it starts in the middle of a verse, and I have to work backward to find the rest. I record ideas on my phone right away because they’re so easy to lose.

“I then listen back, add new parts, and tweak until it starts to feel like something. Breaks help too. Doing something less cognitive often triggers more creativity when I return. 

“The same goes for lyrics. They tend to start out as the sounds I hum while playing. The first take is nonsense but there’s usually something that anchors everything. I typically let them sit in my brain overnight, come back to it with clear ears, and shape it into words that fit. I’m rarely happy with my lyrics, but I’ve learned to let go and move forward.

S13: You’re based in Brooklyn. How much impact do you think your immediate surroundings have on your songs?

RD: “Oh, a ton! There is constant sound outside. Sirens, helicopters, people talking, music drifting from somewhere. It gets in my head, raises my anxiety, and ends up in the songs in two different ways…

“The first is as texture. Sometimes it’s deep in the mix, but there are layers of synths, delay trails, and bits of acoustic noise all over the recordings. It’s not overwhelming, but it’s there and shifts things just enough to make it interesting. 

“The second is through the way I internalise New York. There’s so many people living on top of each other here and I really don’t do well in large crowds. 

“One of the songs you mentioned Better Off On My Own talks about this. It’s the line ‘I won’t fight, but I can’t face a crowded room’. That’s real. I try to avoid heavily trafficked areas like Time Square because it just makes me so uncomfortable. I’ve gotten good at hiding it and putting on a face, but inside I’m screaming get me the fuck out of here… now.”

S13: Do you consider Inland Years a reflection of your personality?

RD: “I guess given all that, yeah. There’s no one song that is 100 per cent biographical, but some things are close. It’s only natural right? It’s what’s inside trying to get out. 

“From more of a musical sense, I still want to take Inland Years to new places. I love what I’m creating, but there’s stuff in my head that I can’t quite find the right ways to express yet. So I’m constantly trying to shorten that distance with every new song.

S13: Is there another album in the offing?

RD: “Yes, actually! I’m releasing a few tracks to Bandcamp on November 28 that I’m calling The Bunker Sessions. It’s an EP of songs from past records reimagined and recorded live with a full band.

“We did it at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, a pretty legendary spot where Yo La Tengo, Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Iggy Pop have recorded.

“I’ve also got A LOT of material in the works for the next release. I’ve only shared that with a handful of people so far, but I’m really excited for the world to hear it.”

Keep Your Eyes on the Road is out now via BSDJ. Purchase from Bandcamp.