Today I’m so excited to bring everyone the latest single from songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Josh Klinghoffer, known as Pluralone, for ”Ranting and Raving.” The track comes from the project’s new forthcoming LP, A Drop in the Ocean, out everywhere you stream your music on June 12th via Org Music. If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider pre-ordering the new album from this talented artist here.
”Ranting and Raving” plays with the idea of an unstable “you”—sometimes sounding accusatory, other times introspective. When you were writing it, did you see that voice as directed outward at someone specific, or as a reflection of your own inner dialogue?
It’s always probably both. I often write at myself and hope the meaning can be somewhat universal. It’s also a pretty common thing for me to switch perspectives within a song. I hope it’s not obnoxiously confusing to follow. I’m always sort of throwing color at the wall. I like the idea of the multitude of voices or meanings each line may illustrate. This song, I’d say, is pretty accusatory, you’re right in saying so.
The track builds from soft electric and acoustic layers into something more expansive with synths—how did you approach that gradual shift in texture, and what did you want that sonic evolution to mirror emotionally?
For a lot of the songs on this record, I knew that the rhythm would predominantly come from the guitar. I wanted to find ways of building tension and dynamics without drums or percussion. Whatever I added had to support and not overpower the guitar.
There’s a line about “making up for having no one to count on” that feels particularly cutting. Was that lyric drawn from a specific moment or relationship, or more from a broader observation about isolation and self-reliance?
Probably more the latter. It’s me, I’m a rather isolated person, emotionally. It’s is my life’s work, or struggle, overcoming some of, what feels like, hard wiring. Not feeling like you have anyone to count on could be entirely the fault of the thinker of that thought.