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Photo:  Jimmy Fontaine

Matt Maeson is no stranger to these pages, having left his mark long before we found ourselves praising his debut album, 2019's Bank on The Funeral. It is a journey, from sold-out headlining shows to chart-climbing singles, that we have been lucky enough to witness firsthand, but that's the funny thing about the journey - it can't all be names displayed proudly on marquees and fans screaming in adoration. In his latest single, "Blood Runs Red," Maeson grapples with the idea of ego and returning to the world he knew as a changed man.

"Blood Runs Red" marks Maeson's first standalone single in nearly a year but it retains all the hallmarks that make the affecting crooner such a force to behold. Opening on hypnotic guitar strumming and his unique timbre that effortlessly draws you in, the unique confessional soon layers upon itself, building to a fever pitch that carries with it all the fervor of an impassioned church sermon. "I did too much living and I'm dying again / I guess I lost my head at the Holiday Inn," sings Maeson before reflecting on his previous statement, "Couldn't let go of my pain / Think I found myself at Holiday Inn," hinting at the idea that maybe the places where we find and lose ourselves are one and the same.

"'Blood Runs Red' is a song about being a successful artist and the narcissistic tendencies that come along with it. I toured for three years straight and received copious amounts of validation but when that ends and you go home, you're left with yourself and who you've become while everyone else around you has remained the same," shares Maeson.

The new single arrives alongside a Jesse Deflorio-directed music video that features grappling with the physical manifestation of the change he's experiencing within himself. "Blood Runs Red" is a story often left untold in music. It is one that shies away from imagined, real, or aspirational fame, instead choosing to zero in on the reality present in those quieter, uncertain moments - the days spent sitting on tour where you're left to ask, "What's next?" and "Who am I, now?"

Watch the "Blood Runs Red" video below: