⚡️💥 SINGLE PREMIERE: "I Don't Wanna Surrender"

Plus An Interview With Ryan Allen Of Extra Arms

Today we’re thrilled to premiere the first single from Extra Arm’s new Album, RADAR.

The Michigan quartet’s well-known for their modern power pop prowess and “I Don’t Wanna Surrender” definitely does not disappoint. Taking cues from ‘70s and ‘80s legends like Elvis Costello, The Cars and Tom Petty, Extra Arms delivers a timeless guitar pop anthem that hooks you from the start and doesn’t let go.

A great deal of that energy comes from how well the band—Ryan Allen (vocals/guitar), Ryan Marshall (bass), Daniel Stover (drums), and Jordan Wright (guitar)—seems to gel on this recording. Listening to it, you really get a feeling for the four musicians bashing it out together in the rehearsal room or live on stage.

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⚡️💥 SINGLE PREMIERE: "I Don’t Wanna Surrender"

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“We really wanted to do something that was a little less heavy handed in terms of the distortion and overall aggressiveness of some of our older records, and make a record that was more timeless and classic sounding,” Allen told me for the interview below.

“That said, we also didn't want to lose the energy that gives the band it's unique character, and ‘I Don't Wanna Surrender’ is one of the songs that really balances that almost classic rock, simple chord structure kind of thing with a driving, high-energy arrangement that is unmistakably ‘Extra Arms.’”

I caught up with Allen by email as he and the band prepare for the release of RADAR (Setterwind Records, May 3).

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Ryan Allen Interview

"I Don't Wanna Surrender" is one of the best straight-ahead power pop tracks I've heard lately. What was the inspiration behind this song?

Ryan Allen: Well thank you, sir. Lyrically, the song is about the constant struggle to find balance. Balance between your work life and your private life, to be more exact. I've seen a lot of people barrel head on into a new job and completely throw their boundaries out the window. I've always been the type of person to try to hold onto those boundaries with every last fiber of my being, even when the majority of folks tend to go the other way. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have had jobs that have paid me money to live, and I've created fruitful relationships at many of them. That said, my job has never been the majority of my identity, and sometimes you've gotta know when to shut the laptop for the day and do something for yourself. 

Musically, I was thinking a lot about early Elvis Costello, which is a constant inspiration for me. I just love how immediate, wordy, and observational his songs were on those first few records. In fact, we threw some farfisa in there at the end to really drive home that early Costello feel. There's also a little skip beat thing we do in the second verse that is 100% a nod to the Cars. The vocal pattern is a bit of a Costello/Ocasek hybrid kind of thing, too. So yeah, I was thinking Cars, Costello, maybe a little Tom Petty, but also this is a very "Extra Arms" song to write, too. I think of it as a twin to "Click Wars" from our previous album, actually.

Last, we really got into the idea of holding one note on the bass while the guitars kind of danced around it with chord progressions or lead lines in the intro and again after the bridge. We really loved the driving, uncomplicated nature of the single note being carried through different spots in the song, as it really gets your head nodding and keeps you focused on the rhythmic anchor of the song while the melodies dart around it. It's a simple but neat trick we haven't tried much, and I feel like we pulled it off quite well on this one.

The energy bursts from start to finish. You can really hear every band member playing their hearts out. Is this song a good indicator for what to expect on the rest of Radar?

Ryan Allen: Yeah, I think this song really kind of captures the essence of the record. The biggest thing to point out is how much of a BAND record this really turned out to be. While I normally come up with the basic structure to the songs, we really tried to dig in together, in the room, and hone in on the arrangements with everybody's opinion and suggestions considered.

I think the album is a lot more dynamic than the previous record in some ways, and you can really hear the individual flavor of Ryan, Dan, and Jordan filtering into the tunes. Having Jordan join the band in August of 2022 added another element of an additional songwriter's perspective to the songs, which really helped push us out of our comfort zone at times, and made the record much better. We were really in it together on this one, and I'm proud of how it turned out.

On top of the sensational Buzzcocks-meets-The Records (and Cheap Trick, and The Cars, and Elvis Costello…) backing track, I really love the Tom Petty-esque lead vocal. Did you have a vision for the way this song should sound going into the studio? How did it evolve?

Ryan Allen: When I'm writing the nugget of a song, I typically have a pretty clear vision of what I want to do going into the studio. By the time we record it, I've already demoed it by myself with a full arrangement, we've worked it out together in the room, re-demoed it as a band (at least this time around), and listened to it ad nauseam.

So, in some sense, by the time we actually record the real song, a lot of it is pretty mapped out. I just can't help it! I hear things in my head and need to make sure they work before we spend time on it in the studio. That said, I did some overdubs at home —mostly all the percussion, harmonies, keys, and extra bits and bobs. Sometimes that stays the same from the demo and other times I'll refine the idea in my head and then execute it while recording.

I tend to go a little overboard on ideas like this, and eventually we end up stripping some things back to create a good balance between the core of the song and the earworm type stuff that make it fun to listen to on, say, headphones. Finding that sweet spot between being super prepared and leaving some room for the unexpected is my typical approach to making records for sure. 

A track like "I Don't Wanna Surrender" really makes me want to see it performed live. Have you had the chance to road test this one yet?

Ryan Allen: Yeah. We've played it a few times so far, and it definitely feels good to play live. It's a really to-the-point, tight, compact song with a driving rhythm that—if this was, say, 1995 and we were a very popular band (neither of which are true)—I could see some pogo-ing and fist pumping going on. Instead, it's people checking their phones and standing by the bar...but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?

Any plans to tour for RADAR?

Ryan Allen: Touring really isn't in the cards for us these days, but we hope to play a bit locally and maybe get out of town for a few weekends before the end of the year. We've got jobs, kids, mortgages, and other stuff to tend to, so our approach these days to making music is that it's more or less an elevated hobby that we all really care about.

If you're in the mid-40s, like myself, you just have to adjust your expectations and be happy with what you've got in front of you. Any other perspective and you're probably fooling yourself. 

Thanks Steve!

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Remember The Lightning—A Guitar Pop Journal, Vol. 2

The second volume of our semi-annual music journal featuring some of today's best music writers and talented modern artists on the music/genres that inspire them.

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