Love can be nerve-wracking and, sometimes, it just feels easier to retreat than to stick around and deal. Richmond, VA-based pop songstress Tyler Meacham tackles this thorny theory in her infectious new synth-heavy single, “No Running Away” from her brand-new album, Into The Fray – both available now.
“‘No Running Away” is a song about the struggle with vulnerability and trust I felt while falling in love with someone,” Meacham reveals. “It’s a story about anxiety and overcoming past heartbreaks cleverly disguised as an upbeat, synth-y pop song.”
The song is indeed upbeat, with an earworm hook, head-bopping groove, and a fist-pumping chorus that will make you want to dance or sing along in your car. It was inspired by some of Meacham’s favorite artists and hit-making producers, like Sara Bareilles, Jack Antonoff of Bleachers, and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.
Meacham pulled the title of the album from the song’s chorus. “The phrase ‘into the fray’ usually has to do with entering into some sort of conflict,” she says. “Love requires vulnerability, self-examination, and hard work. In some ways doing that work can feel like being at war with yourself, and I think that’s a major thread throughout the album.”
Into The Fray was written, produced, and recorded almost entirely in Meacham’s home studio, just prior to the start of the pandemic. The 10-song album explores, as its overarching theme, love, vulnerability, self-awareness, and self-worth. “I was writing a lot of these songs during a time of grief and trying to remind myself of my reasons for waking up every day,” Meacham shares. “I kept coming back to the idea that the people I love matter the most to me and taking up the work required to love them best is my reason for being.”
Prior to dedicating herself to music, Meacham was climbing the glorified ladder of success and able to secure her dream job, yet she found herself incredibly unhappy. She had followed a very clear-cut path for her life — get good grades, get into a good college, pick a major that could result in a well-paying job, get the job, and be comfortable forever. She ended up in an amazing corporate job that she really wanted to love. However, she had made the unconscious choice to put aside songwriting and any dream she had of being a musician for the security of a good paycheck, a good job title, and a plannable future.
That wasn’t sustainable.
So she moved back to her hometown of Richmond, VA and immersed herself in the open-mic scene — which is where she met her bandmates. The result was her 2019 debut EP, Property, and an East Coast tour.
Now, in the wake of a tumultuous year and an ongoing pandemic, Meacham is ready to continue her forward momentum into the fray of life.
