Premiere: ethansroom Learns to Let Go in “Laughing Out Loud,” a Dusty & Cinematic Indie Rock Reverie

ethansroom evolves in more ways than one on his catchy and cathartic “Laughing Out Loud,” a dusty, cinematic indie rock reverie about making peace with our demons and learning to let go.

for fans of Handsome Ghost, Wilderado, The National Parks, Flor

Stream: “Laughing Out Loud” – ethansroom

It’s about learning to laugh at the things that used to seem like the end of the world.

We could all stand to learn a lesson or two from ethansroom’s latest single.

Speaking from a purely personal perspective, the end of the world happens at least one to two times a month, where something “catastrophic” gets in the way of my life plans, and accepting my new reality or adapting to the changing situation feels leaps and bounds harder than dragging my feet through metaphorical mud and making what some might call a “scene” (I promise I’m working on it). It’s neither graceful nor mature, but sometimes grace and maturity are overrated, and we all deserve a bit of space to vent.

That said, wouldn’t it be nice if we could laugh it all off, crack a smile and throw up our hands, shrug our shoulders, and get on with the show instead? What would life be like if obstacles didn’t feel so burdensome and overwhelming that they brought on a meltdown, and we didn’t let the little things get to us? “Laughing Out Loud” is a catchy and cathartic mantra worth paying special attention to: ethansroom makes peace with his demons in his latest single, inviting us deep into his world with a vulnerable, visceral song reflection, reckoning, and moving forward with our lives.

It’s probably weird that I don’t hate you
Guess that means that time has done it’s thing
Ain’t it funny that we’re in the same room
Ain’t it funny that we can be friends

Remember running out of gas with me
Remember how mad I’d get
Ain’t it funny how the end of the world
Plants flowers in the flower bed
‘Cause now I’m laughing out loud
‘Cause now I’m laughing out loud

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering ethansroom’s new single “Laughing Out Loud,” independently out September 13, 2023. His first single since this past March’s Action Movie EP finds ethansroom (née Ethan Fortenberry) embracing a healthy dose of perspective and personal growth as he sings about finding balance and working on his own knee-jerk reactions.

“I wrote the first verse while I was watching the Key and Peele movie ‘Keanu’ with some friends one night,” Fortenberry tells Atwood Magazine. “I was texting an ex of mine, and I think there was something in watching a comedy movie while texting someone you used to love that made me light up inside. I used to love this person. I used to hate this person. Now I am friends with this person. I think those three sentences tell a greater story that lives inside all of us.”

“I wrote the rest of the song the next day thinking about how much time I’d wasted being angry at such small stuff. I’ve never been good at dealing with anger, and this song was the start of me figuring out my relationship with it. When I was 17 I punched a hole in my parents’ wall. When I was 21 I ran out of gas with that same ex and freaked out. I was really angry with Nashville when I wrote ‘L.O.L.’ I was mad at everything for a while”

“A few month later I decided to move away for six months to quiet beach town in Southern California called Encinitas with my best friend Jack. Something had to change, and new scenery couldn’t hurt. There is something other worldly about that place. I really felt like by the end of my stay there, I was able to turn ‘Laughing Out Loud’ from a philosophy into a practice. I still get mad, but the laughing part comes a lot sooner these days.”

I know I tend to
Think out loud when I’m a mess
Ain’t it funny if you’re in the right mood
Everybody is a therapist

I remember being 17
I remember how mad I’d get
Ain’t it funny how talking things through
Plants flowers in the flower bed
‘Cause now I’m laughing out loud…

I still get mad, but the laughing part comes a lot sooner these days.

Inspired by bands like Hovvdy, early Coldplay, and The War on Drugs, “Laughing Out Loud” is a dusty, cinematic indie rock reverie.

“I never knew I could love making music this much, and this song was the start to that,” Fortenberry smiles.

He describes this as an exciting new chapter in his musical journey as ethansroom, a moniker he adopted for his singer/songwriter identity seven years ago. Atwood Magazine has been on that adventure with him along the way, at times premiering tracks, EPs, and even albums:  In premiering his self-titled sophomore LP ethansroom in 2020, Atwood‘s Oliver Crook praised Fortenberry for combining his Andy Shauf-style songwriting skills with the more expansive sounds of a slowed-down MGMT. “The result hones into what makes Ethansroom different from your regular bedroom rockstar — it’s earnest and raw while impeccably produced,” he wrote at the time.

Produced by Jason Bennett, “Laughing Out Loud” captures another side to the ever-evolving, ever-changing artistry of ethansroom. Fortenberry’s latest effort captures, at its heart, a little bit of our shared humanity: That desire to improve who we are and how we interact with our world, whether it’s responding to bad news or having an amicable relationship with an ex.

Who knows? This could be the start of something special for all of us, as we learn to let go and laugh out loud. Stream ethansroom’s enchanting new single exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

— —

:: stream/purchase Laughing Out Loud here ::

Stream: “Laughing Out Loud” – ethansroom

— — — —

Connect to ethansroom on
Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

 © Noah Tidmore

:: Stream ethansroom ::