EJ Carey knew that if she did not release music in 2024, she would be disappointed in herself.
Her latest single, “Crime of Passion”, took a lot of inspiration from her favorite pop-punk vocalists. She credits Love Sux by Avril Lavigne and Paramore albums RIOT! and Brand New Eyes as the main influences behind the song’s instrumentation. Other heavy influences came from songs “No More Friends” by Olivia O’Brien with Oli Sykes and “Cherry Picking” by poutyface.
“I knew I had to make a combination of all these sounds I loved to create something that conveyed the story appropriately,” Carey said.
The lyrics tell a story of a scorned lover determined not to go down in flames but committed to bringing the heat. The narration has a serious amount of angst that blends perfectly with the pop-punk instrumentation.
Carey admits that building the chords was a challenging process. Although it tested her, it did it in the best way.
“When I build chord structures, my inclination is to always skew 2000s pop-rock singer-songwriter (think Five for Fighting, Vanessa Carlton, A Fine Frenzy, Michelle Branch), but those patterns didn't deliver the bite this angsty story needed,” she said. “Using more typical rock progressions (ala My Chemical Romance, Foo Fighters, Daughtry, Nickelback) preserved my commitment to the 2000s sound while producing the heavier power punch that was necessary to drive the story home.”
She spent over two years working on “Crime of Passion” and had finally gotten it to a place where she was happy with it. She scheduled a release date but did not anticipate her world turning upside down before then.
“I suddenly lost my mom on July 18, which has changed everything about how I planned to promote this single,” she said. “My approach since then has been to be authentic about what I'm going through right now, and dedicating this release to my wild child mother, who loved nothing more than hearing a story about burning a cheater's house down.”
There is more music on the way from EJ Carey, including a song that she said compliments “Crime of Passion”. However, she is taking it one day at a time. While she is eager to get back to the recording studio, she is also putting herself first by grieving and celebrating the life of her mother.
“Crime of Passion” is meant to get the listener energized and to help them manifest the power they need to conquer their day. While they should not be manifesting the power to commit arson, it does make for a powerful figure of speech.
