‘dear amelia’ Is a Fearless Exploration of renforshort’s Head, Heart, and Soul
renforshort by Luke Fenstemaker
“Amelia is a character,” 20-year-old alt-pop artist, renforshort, explains about the namesake of her debut album, dear amelia, “and the thing about her is that she is also me.” The shamelessly introspective singer-songwriter released her long-awaited record on July 8 via Interscope Records, fearlessly introducing herself to the world with an iconic blend of guitar-forward pop honesty and the rawness of grunge rock. Inspired by artists like Amy Winehouse, The Strokes, Janis Joplin, and Elliott Smith, on dear amelia, renforshort takes the personification of emotion to a whole new level.
As an artist who started making music in her early teens, renforshort’s rise has been largely informed by her time playing gigs in her hometown of Toronto, finding a musical identity through social media, and the influences of guitar-centered music. March 2020 and a world set on lockdown saw the release of her debut EP, teenage angst - which featured the fan-favorite single, “fuck, i luv my friends,” - which gave ren more than enough time to reflect on life and her emotions. What followed was the release of her 2021 EP, off saint dominque, a reflective song collection that featured the viral hit single, “fall apart.” On dear amelia, renforshort steps into a completely new chapter.
ren is not an artist who needs to outsource approval. Everything she draws from is within her, and without losing her core values of using music to explore the ins-and-outs of mental health, self-erasure, anxiety, and social isolation, her debut album gives listeners an inside look at all the old and new self-discoveries that shaped her world of inner reflection. To give these realizations a name, ren invents Amelia, a character who is not only the personification of her mindfulness, feelings, and experiences, but also, a part of her. “Amelia is basically the personification of this part of my brain that I put so much stress on,” she explains, “and instead of speaking out, I’m speaking and complaining to myself and just being so inward.” dear amelia provides an inside look into renforshort’s emotional psyche, creative mind, and intuitive musical ability.
On the album’s first track, “i miss myself,” the artist gets real about how it feels to lose parts of who you are. Built upon nostalgia and a yearning for who you once were, the opening track laces renforshort’s unique vocals and stripped-down guitars with a sting of sadness, creating a delicate bridge between ren’s mind and the outside world. “‘i miss myself’ is about feeling like you need to be all these other people, until eventually, you don’t know who you are anymore,” the artist says. “I wanted the song to feel like when you’re having a conversation and trying to stay calm, until you finally can’t hold back anymore and everything just explodes.”
Following that sonic and emotional explosion is the inward exploration of renforshort’s head, heart, and soul, which she feels are all connected. On “moshpit,” a single released earlier this year that received acclaim from Billboard, Teen Vogue, OnesToWatch, NME, and a live favorite, the songstress cleverly uses the word as a metaphor for a destructive relationship, detailing the physical and emotional tolls toxicity can have on a person. "If I take an elbow to the face one more time, I think I'll break / I'm not saying I'm a saint, but you're hell,” she sings a re-telling of betrayal and pain filtered through edgy pop-rock vibrancy.
dear amelia also features long-time collaborator, Jeff Hazin, as well as producers/co-writers like David Pramik, Alexander 23, Andy Seltzer, John Ryan, Tia Scola, and Nick Long. With guest spots especially reserved for Jake Bugg on “let you down,” and Travis Barker on “we’ll make this ok,” the album weaves between renforshort’s mental and emotional journeys amidst the complexities of the in-between and falling-apart stages of relationships. On the deceptively sweet track, “made for you,” ren doesn’t go for bubble-gum love stories – she paints a picture of reality. Masked by a driven bassline and addictive pop melody, the song chronicles the slow devastation of changing yourself to fit in with someone else, whether for love or for acceptance. “It’s about changing your entire personality to fit another person’s standards, which is something a lot of women have to struggle within a society where we’re expected to look and act a particular way,” she says.
On top of being a female artist, ren began her music career at a very early age, encountering situations where many people wouldn’t take her ideas seriously based on the fact she was also a teen artist. Now at 20 years old, renforshort has never been more sure about what she wants for her music, and dear amelia acts a clear representation of that, both sonically and lyrically. “I started really young, and I already had this road bump of being a woman and then I had the fact of being seventeen on top of that,” renforshort says about her experience being a woman in music.” There are a lot of things that need to be changed in the music industry for women. There are a lot of things in the world that need to be changed for women! I would love to be able to go into a session and feel comfortable because I usually don’t. I’ve had experiences that have reaffirmed that and that sucks, but I would also like to be taken more seriously. I feel like people should just start to listen a little bit more and be receptive. There are a lot of things I’d like to see changed. I’m very passionate about that, but we can keep trying. Keep pushing. Be loud.”
renforshort by Luke Fenstemaker
Whether she realizes it or not, ren does push forward the agenda for women representation in music. In a world so dominated by solo-pop acts, one where many women are perceived to only stand in front of a microphone, dance, and sing, renforshort defies the stereotype. From taking her electric guitars with her on the road to penning a track about her long-time hero, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, the artist’s influences manifest into her music and her passion, creating a female-fronted, guitar-forward world of music for more artists like her. Her debut album stands not only as a heartfelt, scarily-honest diary entry, but also as a courageous guitar resurgence – one that is breaking away from a pop-fueled atmosphere, and carving out a path for other women guitarists and songwriters.
According to ren, dear amelia is in part, “a love story gone wrong,” and through tracks like, “hate the way you love me,” “i thot you were cool,” and “don’t come back,” she details the intricacies of love, connection, anxiety, and pain, opening up in a way so unfiltered that it’s what makes her stand out as a rising artist. On the album’s closing track, “amelia,” she ironically reflects not on what she’s found from looking inward, but what she’s lost, driving the album into a relentless loop of intriguing storytelling and excruciating sincerity. “The album closes with the song ‘amelia’ because you lose that part of yourself that’s tied to ‘i miss myself.‘ You put so much stress on yourself and inevitably, something goes wrong. It’s like Inside Out. The song is inspired by a lot of things, but it’s also about losing elements of who you once were.”
Having just wrapped up a cross-country tour supporting pop-rock trio, The Band CAMINO, renforshort will be kicking off her very first North American headline tour this fall. Learning from past experiences, ren is also creating space for women in music on tour, having taken a majority-female tour crew (MaKayla Hope, Haley Mewborn, Sarah Midkiff, Elizabeth Cavaliere) on the road with her this past June. “My last tour was all men and I loved them so much,” ren recalls, “but having these women on the road with me is what I needed. I said after my last tour, ‘I need women on my tour.’ It’s not only empowering but it’s also inspiring. We’d go to venues and the venue staff would be like, ‘Oh, are your husbands playing tonight?’ And we’d say, “No, we’re doing the thing. This is my tour manager, this is my photographer, this is my merch girl, and this is me. We got this. We’re doing the thing.” So while that was very hurtful, they kept inspiring us to show them. I think having those women there made it a very comfortable environment for me. I could turn to them and it would be like having a friend on the road. Now I know for future tours to always surround myself with women because they just have the brain.”
Kicking off in her hometown of Toronto, ON, renforshort will be heading out on the road again in September, with a mission to bring dear amelia to life, through unity, togetherness, and honesty. “I want everyone to feel united and feel like family. This is a safe space, and that’s all I wanna create for everyone in that room.”
Dive into the world of both amelia and renforshort by streaming dear amelia now or join her on tour this Fall. Get tickets here.
Stream dear amelia by renforshort here