Lauren Ruth Ward shares the Origins of new track “Hungry Barber”: Stream
Origins is a recurring new music feature that gives artists the task of exploring the inspirations behind their latest single.
It’s true Lauren Ruth Ward used to be a hairdresser, but don’t expect stories of the salon on her new single “Hungry Barber”. The track is the product of her and longtime collaborator/co-producer Eduardo Rivera stepping into the studio with the goal of not writing a song that fit into their usual retro folk stylings. That meant eschewing the expected three-minutes-with-a-chorus structure, and replacing typical percussion with the tapping and flipping of pages in the Well, Hell musician’s own songwriting journal.
“Ed and I wanted to see what it would sound like to create in-house and not think, ‘What genre are we?’ or ‘What will the label think?’,” Ward explains in a press release.
The result clocks in at exactly a minute-and-a-half of woozy, pleasantly buzzed guitar strums. Those page flips are playfully evident as the track builds like the sexual tension of a midnight meet-up. “We’re the 2:00 a.m. club, drunk and horny/ Will your magic mouth be speaking?/ You make the next day harder,” sings Ward in a stream of conscience she describes as “the inner dialogue when chasing the night’.”
Take a listen below. You can also catch Ward on tour later this spring, first with LP and then headlining her own run of shows. Get tickets here.
It wasn’t just a desire to buck traditional songwriting trends that led Ward to “Hungry Barber”. For more on the inspiration behind the track, read her Origins below.
“Rocky Raccoon” — The Beatles:
One of my favorite Beatles tracks. I used to cover it in my teens. I love the dry production George Martin helped curate. The dry, acoustic guitar on this track paired with Paul’s story telling, takes my imagination into an old Western play.
Vali Myers:
Vali Myers, photo by Eva Collins
My favorite artist/muse. I’ve spent nights digging online to find more about this otherworldly, Australia bohemian. I’ve also spent time studying and recreating her self-tattooed face for multiple Halloweens. I’m particularly enamored by the thin mustache-like lines around her mouth and her slight overbite. Though “Hungry Barber” is not written about Vali, the “magic mouth” line is something I’ve had in my notebook for a while and was conjured up due to my infatuation.
“Fools” — The Dodos:
I love the Dodos. I love Meric’s lyrics and guitar playing. I’ve referenced Logans drumming to every drummer I’ve played with. Since I’ve started co-producing our music, I’ve tried out multiple ideas I’ve gotten from listening to the Dodos. One example: layering vocals, using an effect on some of the layers. “Fools” is a great example of that.
