er since Halifax-rocker Cyrus R.O. branched out to pursue his solo career, he’s been keeping busy by consistently dropping new music. His newest single, “All My Cards Are On The Table,” is our second look at his upcoming album DECONVOLUTION which will be released sometime this June.
“The song is basically narrating one of those late-night drunken conversations with a friend or acquaintance where you end up talking about a LOT of stuff you might normally not tread on,” explains Cyrus.
“It isn’t based on any specific real-life moment but I’ve certainly had my share of slightly embarrassing drunken conversations where I revealed enough to be embarrassed the next day. Those experiences certainly informed the lyrics. It’s also meant to be self-deprecating, It’s like, ‘I’m drunk so I’m gonna tell you all the dumb or malicious things I do or think that nobody else knows about’.”
Taking inspiration from British Columbia-based band Mother Mother and their song “Have it Out,” Cyrus explains he borrow the line, “What about you?” to turn it around onto the listener as though he has spilled all of his secrets and now it’s our turn to express what we are ashamed of.
“This record was my attempt, as someone not that well-versed in the electronic music world, to make an electronic record,” says Cyrus. “I’d say at the time of making the album I was really inspired by Nine Inch Nails, as well as the band Sungazer, who fuse electronic music and jazz. Both artists kind of represent to me the sort of meeting ground between electronic music and other genres I’m more fluent with, so they were good reference points for trying to incorporate electronic elements into my more analogue background.”
The song itself possesses a plucky bassline with added hi-hat and synthy sounds which pairs nicely when Cyrus hits those high notes. If the aim was to make a funky danceable track then it hit the mark.
DECONVOLUTION will be our first full look at a change in direction for Cyrus and his sound. Linking his usual rock roots, usually showcased with Dali Van Gogh, with new elements of electronic music, has him balancing on the more experimental and expressive side of production.
“I think it was very liberating to lean into my genre-bendy weird side with confidence. It also made sense to me that in-between-bands was the best time to experiment with stuff that’s harder to replicate live. The new record has a TON of dense arranging, as well as a lot of electronic instruments. That’s a bit trickier to translate into a live band setting than my previous work.
“For me this record was sort of about doing that with my career path. The record itself isn’t necessarily the exact sound I want to paint myself into for the rest of my career, but it was the first time I really let myself be me and be full-on weird with my creation. I think that kind of workflow, that desire to genre-warp and experiment in territory I’m unfamiliar with, is something that I really want to center my future artist career around.”