By Small Ruin – My Angel

Bryan Mullis is the driving creative force behind the band By Small Ruin. As a matter of fact, if you flip the letters around you’ll notice that the band name is actually an anagram of his. BSR has appeared here on The Static Dive a number of times before. That is primarily because Mullis writes a lot of great songs. And he writes them often.

Since the 2018 By Small Ruin album “One Still Bleeding,” Mullis has produced a phenomenal output of music. In the past year he has released new singles nearly monthly. From “All is Well” to “Take Me With You” Bryan has a tremendous ability to set universally relatable stories to immediately memorable melodies and pair them with radio-ready guitar-driven tracks.

“My Angel” is the latest single from By Small Ruin, and once again they hit the mark on all counts. From the start, what caught my ear on this song was the smart and kind of quirky interplay between the guitar and bass in the verse. BSR’s music is decidedly mainstream Pop/Rock with an occasional Country lean. However, once in a while Mullis tips his hand and shows his Alternative Rock roots. The funky surf-like guitar in the verse hints ever-so-slightly at the early work of Bryan’s Athens GA neighbors, The B-52’s or maybe post-punk pioneers Television. Where he veers from the avant garde is the clever way in which he matches those cool riffs with a smooth, singable melody.

Lyrically the song is a heart breaker. Each verse views the loss of a loved one from the point of view of a different family member. Anyone who has ever lost someone they hold dear can understand as the singer looks upon his son and thinks of his father. The tricky guitar/bass verse gives way to a big emotional chorus of keys and harmonies as he sings, “Sleep, my angel. Not a peep my angel.”

You can hear “My Angel” on the Deep Indie Dive playlist. Follow the links below to connect with By Small Ruin. Stay in the loop on all of the current and future releases from this talented and prolific artist.