Guy Forsyth: RIDER [EP Release]

On his new EP, Rider, releasing Nov. 3 on his own Small and Nimble Records label, Forsyth again fuses multiple styles into four songs that exhibit his vast range, from the uptempo rock of “Get Up,” in which he reveals how he formed his lifelong love of music — and compulsion to make it no matter what — to the soulful “Rolling Blackout Blues,” in which he mourns a friend who died of hypothermia during Austin’s big freeze of 2021. On the galloping title tune, Forsyth sings of “ghosts and scars that we carry around inside; those hard-to-shake-off, unwanted guests that rattle around our heads and hearts.” On “Armalite,” he delivers a searing depiction of our current fear-based existence.

For this effort, the singer and multi-instrumentalist played guitar, harmonica, saw and percussion, joined by longtime producer and collaborator Mark Addison, who co-wrote “Rider” and “Get Up” and contributed vocals, bass, guitars and keyboards. They were accompanied by John Chipman (the Band of Heathens, Ruthie Foster) on drums and the Band of Heathens’ Colin Brooks on pedal steel.