Today, Peyton Shay is excited to release the music video for her new single “Lonely Chapstick,” from her forthcoming EP Daydream Police due out later this summer. “Before we even finished writing “Lonely Chapstick,” shares Shay, “there was a running joke about the music video incorporating a giant chapstick attached to a leash. When it came time to film the video, that concept still stuck and we just went for it. Although it looks like I’m just walking around a giant chapstick as a dog (I practically am), it’s a metaphor for the struggle of finding a balance between co-dependency and avoidant attachment.”
Watch the music video for “Lonely Chapstick” via YouTube
The aspiring alt pop artist from a small town outside of Los Angeles has been fighting off boredom and anxiety through songwriting since she recorded and self-released her first breakup song in middle school (no doubt making lunch period extra awkward for all involved the next day), and she hasn’t looked back since. “Lonely Chapstick” is preceded by the Metric/Emily Haines flavored “Savior Complex” and “Twisted Saint”, with its echoes of Goldfrapp and Bat For Lashes. “Loney Chapstick” is a collaboration with producer Adam Castilla (The Colourist) and was mastered by John Greenham (Billie Eilish, Girl in Red, Gracie Abrams).
“‘Lonely Chapstick’ was the first single I wrote off my new EP,” shares Shay. “It started out as a light hearted observation that I always have chapstick on me and I’m clearly addicted to it. We used my addiction to chapstick as a metaphor throughout the song to tell a real-life story of a secret but thrilling relationship. I’m a very independent person and sometimes to a fault, ‘Lonely Chapstick’ is about the fear of letting someone get close to you because you’re scared it might take away from who you are or ultimately you could end up getting hurt.”
Shay spent her childhood playing characters in horror shows, finding her first love for artistic expression within the confines of local and school theatrical productions. “It’s interesting because I don’t come from a musical background,” she shares, “meaning no one in my family has ever been a musician. So, when I became more curious about music in general and eventually the urge to create my own, it was pretty out of the blue.” But it probably wasn’t a surprise to anybody that knew her well when she began crafting her own music inspired by early influences like Blondie, Paramore, and Avril Lavigne. Shay has never shied away from trying something new, a trait she’s come to value in herself over time. “I’m thankful because it gave me the freedom to randomly start writing music and playing piano without any knowledge or training,” she says. “Middle and high school, and just growing up in general is such a weird experience, and music really helped me through it.”
On the Daydream Police EP, Shay set out to revisit the raw immediacy captured in some of her first songwriting experiences, but with the wisdom, skill, and lyrical prowess she’s gained in the intervening years. “When I first started writing music, I had no clue what I was doing, but that led me to create music that was real and steeped in the moment,” she shares. Somewhere along the way Shay feels like she let her all too relatable tendency to overthink things get the better of her though, seeping into the creative process. On the songs found on Daydream Police however, Shay successfully supplants the head in service of the heart. “Writing the songs on my new EP brought me back to my 12-year-old self. It’s honest, daring, and just me. I was also able to dive into what really makes me, me. Music and songwriting are my way of capturing my life story as a young adult who experiences all the same things humans do. Some are embarrassing and laughable, but those are the moments I love the most; It’s human.”
