Extra Arms’ Ryan Allen Makes You an Excellent Mixtape
Power pop acolyte Ryan Allen’s latest record showcases his mastery of the genre. He discusses how his solo releases differ significantly from his band work.
Livin’ on a Prayer on the Edge Ryan Allen Setterwind 25 April 2025
Detroit-based singer-songwriter Ryan Allen never stops writing. Allen is involved in many projects, ranging from the Superchunk-inspired, catchy indie of Extra Arms and Speed Circuit to the Revolution Summer-inspired post-hardcore of Big Life, to his more idiosyncratic power pop solo efforts. And these are just his current concerns. His previous projects include the indie rock band Destroy This Place and the art punk project Thunderbirds Are Now! If he’s not playing, he’s probably hanging out as a fixture in Detroit’s independent music scene.
Allen’s latest, Livin’ on a Prayer on the Edge, plays like the mixtape you’d expect him to make for you. It’s another winner in a remarkably strong run of releases, a guided tour through 1990s guitar rock and pop songs that sounds great on a summer day, punctuated by the reflectiveness and humor that are hallmarks of his lyrics.
Solo releases provide Allen with an outlet for the songs that don’t fit in his bands. “Radar [the most recent Extra Arms release] was a lot of fun and very collaborative, and it got some good attention. It is a very connected record from song to song, mostly because all the same people played on it,” he tells PopMatters.
“But I write a lot of songs, and I don’t always feel like I can push them on one of my bands. I always want to make more music, but not everyone has that kind of time on their hands. Part of how I decide which songs go where is based on the sound of the song. It’s not as hard to decide where songs go as you’d think.”
While most of his projects have an established tone, Ryan Allen feels comfortable taking chances on his solo projects that are inspired by his own preferences as a listener. “I appreciate production as an art form. A lot of the records I’m drawn to have winks, effects, and background sounds. I enjoy layering and dressing up songs to make them seem like each one is part of a play. If every character is the same, it’s kind of vanilla. I prefer to think about the songs as different characters that bring different energy to the project,” he notes.
“I am constantly blown away by Jim Eno’s work on the Spoon records. I enjoy the synchronicity of verse-chorus-verse, but I’m drawn to the idea that I can change what happens from verse to verse to continue to expand upon or add a new idea to the song. I like to add something to tweak it enough so you think, ‘We’re here again, but it’s a little different.’”
Most of Livin’ on a Prayer on the Edge came together unexpectedly and quickly. “Last September, I was watching Monday Night Football with my son and playing guitar, and the riffs kept coming. ‘After I’m Dead’, ‘When I’m Gone’, and ‘Anxious All the Time’ all happened in that time frame. Another one came out of me trying to make my wife laugh. So rather quickly, I had this lightning in a bottle and a few other songs we didn’t use for [Extra Arms’ 2024 release] Radar,” he explains.
Livin’ on a Prayer on the Edge was recorded at home, and Ryan Allen worked with Paul Miner to mix. “Paul has worked on many of my bands’ records. We have a synergy. I recorded at home and sent him the tracks to mix. We did it piecemeal over a couple of months. I asked him to make it sound like a loud 1990s rock record. I cannot believe how well it turned out. I have to give Paul a ton of credit for that. He understands what I’m trying to do for every project,” he says.
The record wears its influences on its sleeve, but not in a warmed-over way. Allen’s commitment to listening to a wide range of music keeps it fresh. “1990s alternative rock is in my DNA. I fell head over heels for Matthew Sweet, Superchunk, Weezer, the Lemonheads, and Pixies–stuff that is crunchy but not aggressive–and also bands like Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine. Part of my identity is that I am a Teenage Fanclub fan. Everyone who knows me knows that is part of who I am. I cannot shake that stuff. There are some good bands taking inspiration from those influences right now, but you really can’t get any better than Sugar‘s Copper Blue,” he explains.
However, staying rooted in the past or sticking to one genre would be stifling. “I believe if you only listen to the type of music you create, you’re going to find yourself just emulating quickly,” Ryan Allen notes. “On this record, ‘Devil’s Juice’ is a straight-ahead punk song, and it is right there with a ballad, and that’s next to a song with a pulsing beat. Not everyone gets to make records that have lots of different sounds throughout the record. Think about how many different sounds are on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Bands don’t make records that have that type of variety as much anymore.”
“I am always exploring different genres,” he continues. “Jordan, Big Life’s drummer, is the same type of listener. He knows more about contemporary jazz than I do, and I’m glad I have people who will insist that I check something out. If you close yourself off musically and only listen to one type of music, you don’t allow yourself to find things that can keep what you’re doing fresh,” he explains. “Punk is a gateway for many people. But you can stay in punk rock, or you can be punk in ethos rather than just style–embrace DIY, no rules. There are so many punks that I know who mostly listen to non-punk music. To me, that’s way more punk than just listening to NOFX.”
Even though Livin’ on a Prayer on the Edge is hot off the presses, Ryan Allen has more new music on the way already. A new Big Life release is scheduled soon, and it’s sure to be another inspired take on timeless sounds. “That’s why I play in so many bands. I like to be able to fold those influences across projects, but at the same time, I am not just a pastiche artist. I put a lot of heart and soul into what I do. My goal is to make sure that my songs have something going on lyrically that listeners can hook into.”
