Pop punk’s most lovable liability, Ray Hawthorne, returns today with the announcement of his new record, “Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted” (set for release on October 15) alongside a heart-on-sleeve anthem, “Tough As Nails“, about inheritance, masculinity, and the messy ways love gets passed down. Pre-save the upcoming record, “Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted“, HERE.
As a grounding moment on “Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted“, “Tough As Nails” confronts the space between being taught to be tough and learning that vulnerability can be a strength in its own right. Through a heavy, but heartfelt tribute to the person who raised him, Ray Hawthorne reflects on the strength, sacrifice, and complicated love that shaped him.
Where “Ray Hawthorne Sucks” was earnest and “Ray Hawthorne Isn’t Real” was chaotic, “Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted” continues a catalog that treats humor, self-awareness, and self-destruction as adjacent concepts. As a whole, Ray Hawthorne leans into emotional whiplash and damage control on his earlier records, while “Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted” (produced by Pete Zen) is aimed at the part of the cycle where the damage has already become too familiar.
Digging into the heart behind “Tough As Nails“, Ray Hawthorne proves he is capable of emotional availability:
“There’s an episode of Hey Arnold that I used to really hate. Not because it was bad, but because it evoked a lot of emotions in me. Like I would change the channel when it came on because it would fuck my whole day up. I don’t remember what the episode is called but the premise is that Arnold learns karate. He gets like super good at karate and it takes him down a dark path paved with good intentions. He starts getting a very “don’t fuck with me” type attitude. All of this comes to a head when someone tries to interact with him and Arnold uses a quick timed karate move against them. It’s reactionary for Arnold at this point, aggression is second nature. But when the camera pans over to Arnold’s would be assailant, it’s revealed to be a crying man saying something like ‘I just wanted to know where the bus stop is”. His clothes are fucked up from Arnolds attack and he is injured. That image of the crying man who just wanted help, but was ultimately met with unwarranted rage sticks with me. It also was a huge wake up call for Arnold, but this isn’t about Arnold, it’s about me. Even writing this right now my day is getting a little bit fucked up. From a young age I couldn’t hang with scenarios like that. I don’t like when people feel helpless and treated poorly. This is one of many ways that I am overly emotional. “Tough as Nails” is about how my dad isn’t outwardly emotional at all, but he’s still a great dude. To each his own. Different strokes. Things like that.”
As he gears up to release “Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted“, Ray Hawthorne is once again sharing how a few bad decisions, too much self-awareness, and an inability to leave well enough alone somehow became a full-length record:
“If you or someone you know has been personally effected by the lyrics of Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted, don’t @ me. This is the first of my albums that was made intentionally. Prior to this I would release a lot of singles, see what people liked the best, then try to retroactively fit the top performers and some unreleased material into a functional album with coherent themes. NOT THIS TIME MOTHERFUCKERS. THIS IS 13 TRACKS OF UNADULTERATED RAGE MEANT TO RIP YOUR HEART OUT WITH NO REGARD FOR YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY. (I read that in the voice of a monster truck rally commercial by the way.) But on a serious note, it was fun getting together with Pete and really thinking through the album as a whole. How it should ebb and flow, where we should push heavier or pull back, things like that. So I hope that level of cohesion is more present than my previous albums when you listen through the record.”
Renowned for his work in North Kingsley, the acclaimed project alongside Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down, Hawthorne initially captured hearts as the Heartbreak Hero with his inaugural solo release “Heartbreak Feels Good in a Place Like This“. Building on his solo work, his debut record “Ray Hawthorne Sucks” further cemented his status as a bold new voice in pop punk, quickly amassing a devoted following and over 20 million streams across all streaming platforms for his magnetic charm and razor-sharp wit.
Blending heartbreak, sarcasm, and just the right amount of emotional stability, Ray Hawthorne leads with a messy kind of hope, turning emotional freefall into something you can scream along to. Where debut album and his firstborn, “Ray Hawthorne Sucks“, leaned into an earnest DIY vulnerability, his previous record, “Ray Hawthorne Isn’t Real“, took a turn and tapped into the restless defiance of a secondborn. The 15 tracks helped embrace the chaos, laugh at the pain, and maybe, just maybe, allow us all to find a little redemption along the way.
Starting from the very real possibility that Ray Hawthorne is just a guy screaming into the ether (and somehow making it sound catchy), his catalog has become a refuge for anyone who’s ever felt too loud, too sensitive, or too much. Loud, petty, and deeply cathartic, Ray Hawthorne is proudly one of the most unapologetically honest voices modern pop-punk.
Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted
Ray Hawthorne
Track Listing
- Overwhelmed
- Sidelines
- I Tried
- Wrong
- Hang Up
- Tough As Nails
- Habits ft. Pouyan Afkary
- Burn New Jersey Down ft Pete Zen
- Head Spin
- When It Rains
- Sometimes I Wish You Were Home
- Bummer
- Somewhere Else
ABOUT RAY HAWTHORNE
Do you remember that episode of Degrassi where Ashley really wants Craig to tell her he loves her, but Craig gets all panicked and can’t tell her that he does? It causes so much drama in their relationship. She begins to question her feelings for him and because of that, he becomes seemingly unsure of his feelings for her. So, in an effort to quell the bad vibes, Craig writes a song that includes lyrics IMPLICITLY AND EXPLICITLY stating that he loves her. (Total banger by the way, the only song of his I like better is the one he sings at the battle of the bands after the two inevitably break up, it’s also about Ashley. I believe it’s called ‘What I Know’) Anyway, Craig was only able to admit he loved Ashley in song form, but you as the viewer are left wondering ‘Does he really love her, or was this just his solution to end the drama?’ Or, ’Is this truly the only way he can express himself because he’s kind of nervous about speaking his true feelings outside of the structured environment of a song?’. I tend to believe it’s a mixture of both. So what I’m trying to say is, this collection of songs is kind of like that. I always feel like I have so much to say but often feel a bit too vulnerable when discussing my actual feelings. So for the majority of my life, I’ve just written them into songs instead. These songs can be quite vulnerable even if they seem silly at times. So now you’re left to wonder… am I telling the truth or just trying to get rid of Ashley’s bad vibes?
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