Ruth Lyon - Direct Debit To Vogue EP (2022)

EP, Direct Debit To Vogue. It encapsulated a lot of the themes she was drawing upon in the songs; self-doubt, insecurity, emotional masochism, the weight of arbitrary expectations. All of this is un-ravelled through offbeat, sophisticated chamber pop and anti-folk, commanded by Lyon’s soulful vocals and witty yet raw lyricism. Following her 2021 debut EP Nothing’s Perfect, it’s a blooming of her musical personality.

The EP begins with “Wool”, a reflection on birth, life, reinvention, and disillusionment. “Wish I could’ve heard the noise when they cut the cord / Maybe I’d understand my own voice,” sings Lyon. Musically, the track introduces the rich and nuanced sound of the record, plus its penchant for twists and turns. “Pauses and holes and space are intrinsic to what I do. It trickles in a little bit — it’s got a few more layers and textures to it, so you have to concentrate,” says Lyon. Elsewhere, the sleek “Stone” looks at the messy yet ultimately redemptive nature of a long-term relationship, while the swaggering “Clown” explores the temptation of reckless decisions.

“Trouble” opens with the line “I woke up wondering when I’m going to die.” It’s a track that captures the essence of anxiety, of the expectations heaped upon us at every turn; yet at the same time, it celebrates unknowingness and wildness, through some of the album's catchiest moments. “This is a reaction against this idea of perfection that society has us believe is the goal, when actually it’s a short cut to death,” says Lyon. “I’ve never been able to tread the path of least resistance, but nor would I want to. I am hard work, I am difficult, I don’t want to be boxed up with a neat little bow with my labels printed on it. I am trouble and I love it.”

The EP’s standout is its closing track, “Flood”. Here, above a suave soul backing, Lyon takes aim at those who fetishise and alienate the Disabled community. She channelled the outspoken, irreverent performance style of Self Esteem in delivering lyrics like, “I don’t want to be your inspiration porn that makes you feel warm like a nice cup of tea / In fact, I’d rather you found a kink that didn’t involve me.” She sums up the triviality of forcing others into boxes amid the absurdity of human life: “We are all just skin and bone, recycled carbon in time.” “I had the most fun writing that,” she smiles. “It’s nice to write something and think, I might piss some people off with this, but it’s true.”

The key themes that Lyon found were at the core of all these songs were power in fragility, and beauty in imperfection. This turns on its head all of the societal assumptions represented by those Vogue magazines, and opens up doors to a new kind of self-acceptance and power.

Speaking to the EP as a whole, she explains, “I think it's very, very personal, but it doesn’t sound preachy, which I really liked. I wanted to tread a line of saying something powerful and interesting and speaking honestly about stuff that is sometimes hard to talk about, but without it sounding, like, ugh.” Equally as important as what it means to her, Lyon adds, is the impact it will have on listeners. “I want it to be very inclusive, like anybody could listen to any of the songs and come up with their own story, or it would mirror their individual circumstances,” she says. “I wanted to evoke the feeling of the kinda music that just punches you in the gut. Rather than ‘oh, this is pretty, this is nice’ — I want to emotionally drag some stuff out of people.” She concludes Direct Debit to Vogue’s journey with four simple words: “I’ve found my voice.”