Spotlight On: Liam Ross
Written by: Keyali Mikaela
After the anticipated release of his debut EP titled "Reconstruct," it becomes evident that independent artist Liam Ross has truly come into his own. Building upon his previous works, including songs released under the moniker Verona, this project solidifies Ross's identity and artistic vision, showcasing a musician who has found his authentic voice and musical direction.
"Reconstruct" is an EP that beautifully captures the essence of resilience and self-discovery in the face of adversity. The opening track, "Home," sets the stage for this transformative journey, where the idea of rebuilding oneself after life's hurdles is vividly portrayed. As the EP unfolds, each song delves deeper into the emotional aftermath of a challenging separation, closing with the ballad, "I Must Be Strong."
Throughout the EP, listeners are taken on an exploration of raw emotions and introspective musings, mirroring the process of healing and growth after parting ways with a loved one. With each track, "Reconstruct" becomes a testament to the human spirit's ability to rise above obstacles and find strength in vulnerability. It offers a relatable and comforting experience, resonating with anyone who has faced heartbreak and the need to rebuild their life anew.
Following the release on August 4th, we had the opportunity to have a quick call with Liam to have a chat about his EP release.
Next Wave: With the EP out, are you planning on doing any live shows or releasing music videos?
Liam Ross: I think maybe I could do a few live shows — I haven’t exactly been filming music videos, I would say I’ve been doing more visualizers for the songs that I could eventually get up on Youtube. I feel like music videos would just take up time that I could be using to get out as much music as possible.
NW: Compared to when you were in a band and you had people helping with marketing and putting out music, what’s different now that you’re doing it yourself?
LR: I think people take that stuff for granted — Not to say that I did, but a lot of it was different. Now I feel like I have more of a say in what I’m able to do and put out, where before there were other influences with the music that was getting put out.
NW: Do you think that moving home and being somewhere familiar helped with that?
LR: I lived in LA for a few years and after a while I just stopped…liking it. I think it really affected my creativity while living there. I don’t think it has so much to do with being at home, but more with not being somewhere that I didn’t enjoy.
NW: I know you mentioned before having a 50’s influence on some of the songs, were there any other influences you had?
LR: I don’t think I had a lot of outside influences — I mean, I listened to James Ivy, Moody Joody, Novo Amor, Pinegrove. I love how I said I didn’t have any influences and then I listed off like, 4 artists.
NW: It’s cool that you’re able to kind of pull from the music you listen to for inspiration and bring that into your own music.
LR: Yeah- I don’t think there was a specific artist I really thought about while writing these songs. Like [song] there wasn’t anyone in particular, [song] too, also [song]. I think the one song I had an artist in mind while listening was Loved Me Last, which was an older band called Herman’s Hermits. I’ve had quite a few people tell me that I Must Be Strong reminds them of the 1975. I think it’s just because of the acoustic guitar and vocals, but I don’t know.
NW: I know you’ve been posting a lot more on Tiktok, how do you think that help with connecting with fans you have and gaining new ones?
LR: You know, I’ve been in a couple other projects and a lot of those fans have stuck around, but it’s a really great feeling getting new fans with the music I’m putting out now. It makes me feel really good about what I’m putting out.
NW: I’ll leave off with this last question, but I know you mentioned at the beginning of the year that you wanted to get 12 songs put out by the end of the year and now you have an EP. Do you have anything else planned?
LR: I did say that I want to have 12 songs out. I’m a little behind. I don’t think I’ll really put anything out past, like, December. I’ve put out 6 songs so far, so I’m about halfway there. I think I want to have at least 4 more songs out this year. I’ve been kind of doing a song per month which has been really great because I’ve just been able to kind of stop focusing on making things sound perfect and just put out music. There’s one song I put out last year called Apparition that I thought wasn’t perfect, but did really well on Apple Music. So I think I’m just going to stop trying to make things perfect and just put out what feels right. After going through everything, what I’m putting out is a lot of trying to reconstruct myself, which is where the EP title “Reconstruct” comes from. It’d also be really cool to see people post in merch for the EP, it took me a while to find that font.
NW: It’s always the font.
LR: I don’t even remember what it’s called, I think it was probably something fancy.
Listen to “Reconstruct” by Liam Ross, check out his merch and follow him on social media below!
*responses have been edited for clarity*
