03 APRIL 2020 (TORONTO, ON) - LYR – the musical project comprised of singer Richard Walters, producer and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Pearson and current UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage – release their new single "33 1/3", out now on Mercury KX/Universal Music Canada, the country's leading music company. The track is the third single taken from their upcoming debut album, Call in the Crash Team, out May 29.

On "33 1/3", LYR draws inspiration from a truly tragic moment in musical history – the sudden and heart-breaking passing of Joy Division lead singer, Ian Curtis. The ‘click track’ which can be heard in the opening of the song is a recording of the run-out spiral of ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and sets the pace for Armitage’s compelling lyrics and Walters’ captivating voice. Short, sharp sentences are laid over ghostly vocal melodies, creating an obscure but intriguing mood that builds into an almost EDM-like beat.

Speaking of the track, LYR further explain, “Although the subject is dark, there are moods and tones in the orchestration that border on the passionate and the ecstatic - glimpses of joy - the kind of contradictions that are possible, necessary even, when language and music collide and combine.”

The complexity and process behind the construction of the track has been meticulously thought through in relation to the story. Every detail, from the tempo to the effect of the instrumentation, has been intentionally placed. Even the title of the track, ‘33 1/3’ refers to 33 1⁄3 RPM – the speed at which a 10’ or 12’ vinyl plays on a turntable.

LYR thrive on the unexpected and their upcoming album ‘Call in the Crash Team’ is set to convert any previous sceptics of spoken word, thanks to Armitage’s extraordinary abilities as a storyteller, as well as Pearson’s seductive bricolage of musical styles and Walters’ evocative vocals.

Breaking barriers and building unexpected bridges between different worlds is embedded in the core of LYR — and is a galvanising philosophy for the band as they prepare to unveil their music to their world.

33 1/3

They forced the door
and found in the bed-sit
the pulsing hook-line

of diamond on vinyl,
the arm still ploughing
the run-out spiral,

the lost module
of cartridge and stylus
in captured orbit

around the spindle, a looped,
circling, whirl-pooling swansong
that died as they craned up

the weightless needle
and lowered him down
on the rope that he swung from.