Roaring through the volatile wreckage of post-breakup emotion, Bridget Rian’s latest single is an emphatic and exhilarating upheaval of the heart and the soul. Sometimes relationships end smoothly; two flames amicably part ways, but remain friends to a degree. Other times, a breakup rocks you to your core, twisting your worldview and shaking your very identity in the process. This is, without a doubt, one of those times: An eruption of pure passion and raw pain, “new hampshire” is a triumphant and assertive breakup anthem burning with cinematic, brightly charged indie pop.
Never thought we would end up here but here we are I’m getting fucked up and screaming at the stars Your stuff’s in the living room You haven’t moved out yet Never thought you’d be messing with my head
I’ll never go to New Hampshire I’ll never listen to Dave ‘Cause anything that I know you love right now I have to hate I’ll never drive down Acklen I’ll never go on a date Cause I don’t think I’ll ever love again that same way I’ll never go to New Hampshire
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “new hampshire,” Bridget Rian’s sixth overall song release and the second single off her forthcoming sophomore EP, Screaming at the Stars (out September 23, 2022). Taking its name from a line in this new song’s first verse, Screaming at the Stars is a bold, confident, and captivating follow-up to Rian’s debut EP Talking to Ghosts, released just last summer. Working with Nashville-based producer Paul Moak (Caitlyn Smith, Liz Longley, Goodbye June), the New York-raised singer/songwriter spills her soul in five songs she proudly considers a “harrowing coming of age story.”
Bridget Rian © Josh Kranich
Following this past April’s driving and aching lead single “why did u lie,” “new hampshire” is an unapologetic, up-close-and-personal affair. Rian allows feelings of anger and sadness flow forth freely in a song that acts as a major middle finger to her ex.
“I feel like this song is pretty self-explanatory,” she tells Atwood Magazine. “‘New Hampshire’ is about hating someone you still love. It’s about hearing a song on the radio they love and you turn it off. Instead of driving by someone’s house after a breakup, you swear you’ll never drive down their road or go to their home state. How you’re afraid you’ll never love anyone the same way again because they ruined your trust. It’s about throwing their shit in the dumpster if they leave it in your living room. It’s about demanding respect even after you think you lost it.”
“Even though ‘new hampshire’ is upbeat and catchy, I feel like it’s a big “f you” whenever I sing it – which is fun,” she adds. “The song is so obviously specific, which makes my friends laugh every time they hear it because they know exactly what it’s about. The song was written at a time when I was really hurt and afraid I would never be able to love again. Obviously, time goes by (songs take a little while to come to life) and now the song has a whole new meaning to me. I went from grieving a relationship to being really mad that I let someone treat me badly. It’s freeing to be able to call someone out in a song. Even if they never listen to it. The song isn’t for that person – it’s for me.”
All my friends say you’ll show up again in a month But I think I can only live through this once Keys rattle at the door, I think that it’s you I forget you’re not coming back that’s new
I’ll never go to New Hampshire I’ll never listen to Dave Cause anything that I know you love right now I have to hate I’ll never drive down Acklen I’ll never go on a date Cause I don’t think I’ll ever love again that same way I’ll never go to New Hampshire
Bridget Rian © Josh Kranich
Directed and edited by Rian and directed and filmed by Hays Thompson and Riley Herman, the “new hampshire” music video contrasts the music’s darkness with a sense of free-spirited joy. “The video for “new hampshire” is a juxtaposition between how angry the lyrics are and how much fun I’m having in the video,” she explains. “I feel as though I’m almost mocking the person I wrote the song about through the video. The lyrics say, “I’ll never go on a date, I’ll never love again that same way,” but I sing them while laughing. Sometimes after you take the time to mourn a relationship, you realize how it was almost embarrassing for you to feel so upset about them rejecting you… and you end up being thankful that they did.”
Between its emotional reclamation and its driving musical fire, “new hampshire” is an all-around triumph. Rian soars over bustling drums and feverish guitars, her voice full of heat and conviction. This song can’t help but remind us of the works of Olivia Rodrigo, Sydney Sprague, and girlhouse, yet there’s something undeniably refreshing about Rian’s individualism and uncompromising spirit: She beats to the tune of her own drum through, and that verve translates directly into her uplifting and energizing music.
Bridget Rian’s sophomore EP Screaming at the Stars is out September 23, 2022. Stream “new hampshire” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
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