Carrie Ryan – Fool’s Gold (2025)
Brimming with a can-do attitude, desire for creative expression, and all-around passion to connect with audiences in optimistic melodies, Carrie Ryan is that bubble of sunshine you need to make your day better. Like Justin Bieber – and this is the only reference I’ll make to Beebs in this review – US-based Ryan began her musical journey on YouTube. By the time she hit the studios, she was turning international heads with a loyal following. After releasing her single ‘Lullaby’ in 2011, Ryan took a “5-year hiatus of major soul-searching”; now she’s back to resonate with audiences using intimate, personal, heartfelt experiences wrapped in charming tunes. The latest addition to her discography is the single ‘Fool’s Gold’.
Following her well-received single ‘Wild Love’, ‘Fool’s Gold’ sees Ryan embrace elements of dark-pop in the four-minute song. Yet, while the song lies in an alternative-pop realm, tinges of rock slice through with a soaring guitar. Met by shimmering synths, an interspersed piano, and dynamic drums pulsating like a heartbeat in the background, ‘Fool’s Gold’ tugs at your heart and sends chills down your spine.
For me, the acoustic piano holds a sense of tragedy in its haunting – it’s like that organic sound jumps up and bites while adding a tranquil despair. Joining the piano with its sense of vulnerability is Ryan’s obscure vocals. Delicate but confident, fragile but mature, sensitive but bold, her dulcet voice is smooth and soothing while tinged with tumultuousness.
Melodically, ‘Fool’s Gold’ twirls with kaleidoscopic emotions, but the lyricism enhances the weightiness of the track. Ryan explains:
“… It’s about making decisions, even if they are bad ones, solely for the plot. It’s reflecting on the cringy, awkward person you think knows everything. And, looking back, you realise you didn’t really know much and had so much growing up to do… I wanted to create a song that was over the top, high drama…”
One of the songs off Carrie Ryan’s upcoming EP – set for release in late summer this year – ‘Fool’s Gold’ is a song to have on repeat. Until the EP arrives, I’m spending my time exploring Ryan’s discography; I highly recommend you do the same.
Find out more about Carrie Ryan on her official website, Instagram, TikTok and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
Listen to more pop music on The Other Side Reviews Pop playlist:
