Ryan McDavid: “Runaway (Late Night Reverb) “
Punk Head: You describe your music as “emotional architecture.” What does that idea mean to you in practice when you’re building a track like Runaway?
Ryan McDavid: Honestly, it’s just my way of saying I want the song to feel like a real place you can walk into. I wasn't overcalculating anything. I just wanted the track to reflect a feeling that I think a lot of people end up in. It’s about building an atmosphere so that when you hit play, you aren't just hearing a song, you’re stepping into a headspace that feels familiar to anyone who’s been through it.
Punk Head: You intentionally avoid strong visuals and let the atmosphere do the work. Can you tell us more about the importance of leaving space for listener interpretation?
Ryan McDavid: It’s not so much that I’m fully anti-video, I just prefer to keep things simple. I think once you have a specific visual, your mind just goes along with that one image. Letting the song speak for itself allows the person listening to come up with their own meaning and connect it to their own life. This song is about a real situation, loving someone but knowing you have to push them away because you haven't healed from your own past yet. By keeping it simple, the listener can feel that situation in their own way.
Punk Head: The “Late Night Reverb” version feels suspended in time. What emotional shift were you hoping to create by slowing everything down?
Ryan McDavid: The original has a bit of a "panic" to it, but I just wanted to make a version of the song that hits even harder on those late night drives. Slowing it down was about that moment when you stop running and you’re finally forced to sit with the truth. My engineer, Ray Nizam, is a huge help with getting that feeling right. We wanted to give the emotion more room to settle so it feels like that quiet, painful realization that you need to be alone for a while.
Punk Head: The song feels made for solitude — late drives, quiet rooms, introspective moments. Do you imagine a specific listener environment when you write?
Ryan McDavid: For sure. I always think about those 3:00 AM drives in Guyana when the streets finally go quiet. There’s a specific kind of "good sad" you feel when you're alone with your thoughts. I write for the person sitting in the dark, processing a heavy choice, like realizing you love someone too much to let them get hurt by your own past. It’s a lonely feeling, and I just wanted a sound that understands that.
Punk Head: Dream pop and indietronica often blur emotion rather than explain it. What do you think music can express that words alone can’t?
Ryan McDavid: Words can only say so much. You can say "I'm not healed," but the actual sound of the music can make you feel the weight of it. To me, music is for those feelings that don't really have names. Especially being an indie rock artist in a place where this sound isn't the norm, I rely on the vibe to say the things I can't quite put into plain English. It’s more about the feeling than the explanation.
