The Scottish-born, Disney-published, and Ontario-based singer-songwriter Lyle Oliver release his soulful country-rock debut single entitled "Hold On."
The Thornbury-hailing country-rock artist released three collaborative singles with Mladen Alexander: Sleeve, This Means War, and Stars and Stripes. His most recent single, "Hold On," is his big solo debut into the music industry, and we're welcoming his storytelling and colorful stylings with open arms.
Expanding on Lyle Oliver's debut single, "Hold On," the singer-songwriter mentioned the single is about a young 'it' couple pretending to have it all. When they separate and leave for college, the man realizes that they did, in fact, have it all. We adore the uplifting and passionate sound, and we're sure our readers will too.
Listening to "Hold On," the tune kicks into gear with an uplifting and bright country-rock instrumental that sets the song's passionate and soothing tone. As Lyle Oliver jumps in, he begins to soulfully tell the heartfelt story of two lovers at seventeen while setting many nostalgic high school scenes. Making his way over to the hook, Lyle Oliver and his accompanying toe-tapping instrumentals blast through our speakers with the utmost heart and soul.
We adore the honest and relatable story Lyle Oliver brings to the single; he takes us through several milestone ages and the emotions we feel when navigating our way through our first serious relationships. Lyle Oliver's performance is nothing but captivating; he has such a way with words, and his charismatic delivery keeps our attention hooked until the soul-southing outro.
Hang tight and "Hold On" with Lyle Oliver's passionate debut single, now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Lyle Oliver. Congratulations on releasing your heartfelt and conceptual debut single, "Hold On." What inspired you to write about the story of young love?
Relationships, in general, are not always as perfect as they may seem to the outside eye. “Hold On” takes this concept and uses artistic license to create an extreme version of this where a young “it” couple portrays an ideal relationship to the outside world but in actuality have a relationship filled with what appears to be problems. Later the guy realizes the problems were not as big as they seemed and that they actually had a good thing and he wishes he had held on as he really loved the girl.
Is it easy for you to paint such detailed images through your songwriting? How did you bring your ideas to life during your songwriting process for "Hold On"?
To me, songwriting is a gift. I try to paint a picture and tell a story in all of my songs. Something a listener can relate to. Lyrics are extremely important to me and make up a large part of my songs. Once the initial “spark” of the idea of the “it “ couple hiding flaws comes to life I try to write lyrics that embellish the concept.
I firmly believe you know a good song if it sounds good with a vocal and acoustic guitar. So all my songs are written this way. I try to write meaningful and memorable radio-friendly songs with hooks. Hopefully the chorus for “Hold On” is really catchy.
Did you work with any other musicians and producers when creating "Hold On"? What was that creative process like?
A friend of mine introduced me to Jon Zaslow and I got Jon to produce the track. In conversations with Jon, I expressed the desire to create my own sound. Different from my 3 previous collaborative releases. Also, it was my desire to have a more traditional country sound. There is a tendency for a lot of the new country songs to sound similar in my opinion and I didn’t want that. I think we achieved that with the production.
Pedal Steel was something I wanted in the song. Jon knew an amazing pedal steel player Dale Rivard and he nailed it. He is the Dr. Of STEEL! Jon also hooked me up with Terry Martell who did a great job with the drums. I mastered the track at Silverbirch studios a great mastering studio run by Andy Krehm.
Why did you want to release "Hold On" as your debut and solo introduction to the music industry? How does this song represent you and what you want to create?
I had decided to do some solo releases earlier in the year and wanted to create my own identity from my duo work. I also wanted to develop as a writer and expand my creative process. I believe I accomplished this with Hold On.
I want to write a wide variety of material and don’t want to be locked into a specific sound. Hold On is a classic country-rock song to me. My next song could be an acoustic release. Wanna go where the creative process takes me.
I have been writing a lot and have more than an entire album of material that will be released in the future. Not all my material will be clones of Hold On. I think Hold On is a good representation of me as a writer in that it has strong lyrics and a catchy sing-along chorus.
What's next for you?
I intend to keep writing and release more songs in 2022. With Covid, it’s hard to get out but I’m hoping if I keep writing quality songs that the songs will speak to people.
That’s what I want as a songwriter.
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