Eulogy: Volume, the first part of which drops Nov. 17. And EW has an exclusive sneak peek at its first single, "Red," out everywhere Friday.Radnor has been making music for a decade, but when the pandemic hit he found himself getting "backlogged" with music. "Like a lot of people, I was frozen in place, but I had a couple guitars lying around, and my songwriting really exploded," he tells EW.
If the emotional upheaval served him well, Radnor is quick to clarify he doesn't need to be miserable to create art he's proud of. "There's a great, long tradition of breakup albums being some of the best albums, but I wouldn't say I'm someone who looks to be in heartbreak or duress to make things," he says. "I actually find I create more from joy and an orderly life, but you have to just start from where you are.
Inspired by poet Robert Bly's theories about the chapters of masculinity — red, white, and black — and them representing different phases of a man's life, he originally intended to write a three-song cycle named after the colors, but he only got around to writing "Red." Says Radnor with a laugh, "Maybe I'll get to the other two one day."