If there is one thing to know about Elvie Shane, the star-in-the-making is not afraid to speak his mind. Following up smash hits like “Forgotten Man,” “Baptized,” “Jonesin’” and more, Shane released what he has deemed to be “the most personal and definitely the heaviest song” of his career on September 29, a tear-jerking track titled “Pill.”
New single, “Pill”
While the Wheelhouse Records recording artist is known for making music that highlights the struggles of his community and many others, “Pill” sheds light on addiction specifically, stemming from a not-so glamorous time in his life.
Last week, the talented singer-songwriter posted a reel via Instagram where he discussed the story behind the song, with a caption that reads, “‘Pill’ — Coming 9/29. Probably the most personal & definitely the heaviest song I’ve ever put out — Tag someone who you think needs to hear this one.”
“I started it as a letter to myself from my little brother,” the 35-year-old shared in the video. “What would he have said to me at one of the lowest points of my life when I was going through some struggles in my early 20s? I know there’s a lot of people out there going through similar struggles, and I’m just hoping that this song reaches at least one of them and helps them make some changes.” Then, he proceeded to sing a portion of the soon-to-be hit track.
Fans Were In Awe Of The Tune
Naturally, country music lovers were in awe by the emotion-packed song, flooding the comment section of the Instagram post with love.
“You’re the professional and know more about it than I do, but dude leave it this raw, [with] the pain in your voice and the sadness coming from the strings. I couldn’t see this song better than the way it is rn,” one fan wrote.
“You sing with your heart and write from your soul! This is a special heavenly gift that you share with us and for us! 😍 🎶 Thanks again darling for keeping it real,” shared another.
“My partner just came out of rehab and is doing so well — loving hearing more country songs addressing addiction. Thank you for sharing and inspiring,” a third fan commented.
“This is a true and personal story that was inspired by me seeing a couple at a red light that looked like me 13 years ago,” the country crooner elaborated in an interview with Music Mayhem and other media. “The song is written from the perspective of my little brother writing me and her a note… The way that it affects my mom as well has always been pretty heavy on me that, you know, I didn’t realize how hard that time in my life was on my mother until we wrote this song and put it together and I let her hear it, and now she can barely listen to it.”
Inspiring New Song
“Obviously, as artists and singers and songwriters, we want millions of people to listen to our songs and play them over and over and over again, but I think my main goal with this song is just that hopefully even just one person hears it on a playlist or somebody sends it to them or something, and they’re listening, and it moves them in a way that when they hear ‘the porch lights on, the doors are unlocked, you go on home before it gets too dark,’ they’ll actually make that move.”
With this release, the budding country star reminds those who are struggling with addiction that it’s never too late to come back home and turn their life around, and it is truly as inspiring as can be.
With over 372 million career streams and counting, “Pill” will undoubtedly cause this number to skyrocket, but it is just the beginning of everything Shane has on the horizon.
Forthcoming project, Damascus
“Pill” is a part of the one-of-a-kind artist’s forthcoming project, Damascus, which he has yet to announce to the public.
When asked how his upcoming album will compare to his previous project from 2021 titled Backslider, which featured smash hits like “My Boy,” “County Roads,” “Love, Cold Beer, Cheap Smoke” and more, Shane said that “It’s definitely different.”
“I think last time I was just really focused on paying homage to my early influences and telling my story autobiographically, where as now, I became really interested in like telling other people’s stories,” the country troubadour shared, but the overall sound of the project is where fans can see the biggest change.
“Sonically, I think is the biggest difference here. We just really went for it. I mean, you’re going to hear stuff that’s influenced by Springsteen… Then you’ll hear stuff that’s heavily influenced by Mac Miller and Eminem and Foo Fighters and some punk rock stuff that I listened to when I was younger. I just really wanted to bring everything together,” the Caneyville, Kentucky native explained, which ultimately helped him land on the title of the project itself: Damascus.
“It’s Almost A Multi-Genre Record”
The soon-to-be country star revealed, “We’re calling it Damascus, because the type of steel that’s named Damascus is where you bring a bunch of different types of steel and you heat them up, beat them together, and it makes this, I’m sure you’ve seen it before, but it’s like this very beautiful blade. It’s got a bunch of lines in it and stuff, and it’s from all those different elements being pressed together.”
“It’s almost a multi-genre record,” Shane continued. “The melody doesn’t have to sound like a country song or a rock song or a rap song or whatever… There’s this feeling that I don’t know what it is, but it’s my barometer for, ‘Is this my song or not?’ and if it feels real, then it’s my song. If it makes me feel something, then I’m confident I can get in front of a crowd of people and make them feel something.”
Aside from the diverse nature of the project leading to the name Damascus, Shane also titled his sophomore album this due to the biblical reference it holds.
“I’m sure everyone’s heard of the Apostle Paul and the road to Damascus, and it’s pretty popular story from the Bible, but it’s also just used as a figure of speech these days to say that someone’s on a road to enlightenment, and I definitely felt like I was on a road and I wanted to be enlightened,” the talented singer-songwriter explained.
He continued passionately, “I just already had the idea to pull from so many different influences, and it almost felt like it just a gift from God that idea, because not only was I on this road to trying to figure things out and this road to Damascus, but then the thought came to me of the steel one day, and I was like, ‘Well, that’s literally what I’m trying to do in my head with this music.’”
Making his mark on the music industry
Rather than releasing catchy tunes he hopes will be topping the charts, Shane wants to do more with his music, spreading important messages and highlighting real-world problems that the working class tends to face.
“There’s still people out there that are really struggling just in life, in general, that are having to deal with these problems too and these issues, so it felt important to put that out,” the rising country star shared in regard to “Pill,” prior to revealing what he hopes the purpose of Damascus as a whole will be.
“This entire project’s a heavy project. I’m super proud of it, but it’s heavy for myself [and] it’s heavy for the characters that I’m writing about… My goal is for people to be able to listen and maybe close your eyes for three minutes and be like, ‘Oh, this must be what it feels like,’ because I think it’s so easy to write people off like addicts or convicts or people that just live ways that we disagree with,” the multi-faceted artist dished.
“I just didn’t want anything to be off the table for this,” he continued passionately. “I wanted to explore things that I even I disagree with, but like sing about them from a place of understanding and empathy, so that maybe I could like know what it feels like to talk that way instead of the way my knee-jerk reaction to respond to things.”
“It’s easy to just take where we were raised, where we come from, and what we’ve been told all of our lives and have a knee-jerk reaction to it… I want to just be open and talk about real s**t for lack of a better word,” Elvie Shane concluded, and fans seriously cannot wait to see what this new era of music has in store.
Fans can pick up “Pill” HERE.
