The latest solo project fromsinger/songwriterAnthony Raneri, Everyday Royalty is proof of the pure unbridled magic that happens when total freedom meets intention and experience. In a departure from the blistering sound he’s delivered for nearly 25 years as frontman for iconic punk band Bayside, the seven-song EP shape shifts from anthemic alt-rock to soul-searching indie-folk to full-tilt country as Raneri simultaneously deepens his songcraft and follows his most unfettered impulses. “Most of this record came from getting into a room with friends and working on songs for fun, then walking out with a lot of cool material without really even planning on it,” says the Nashville-based, New York City-born musician. “It reminded me of when I first started out and everything was 100 percent DIY—I was just doing what felt exciting, with absolutely no rules.”

His third EP and first solo effort since 2015’s Sorry State of Mind, Everyday Royalty finds Raneri joining forces with co-writers/producers like Sam Tinnesz (Dashboard Confessional, Royal & the Serpent) and Joey Hyde (Jake Owen, Ryan Hurd), ultimately bringing a new element of nuanced self-reflection to the unflinching honesty that’s always defined his songwriting. On the EP’s gritty yethypnotic lead single “Bones,” that dynamic takes the form of an up-close portrait of emotional desolation, achieving a larger-than-life power at its hard-hitting chorus. But while “Bones” bears amoody intensity, much of Everyday Royalty radiates a strangely hopeful spirit—a quality fully echoedin the EP’s title. “The idea behind Everyday Royalty is that greatness can exist anywhere and in anyone,” Raneri explains. “With Bayside, I tend to make heavy music that’s meant for everyone toscream along and hopefully find some catharsis, but with this record the goal was to make people feel good right off the bat. It’s something I’ve never done before in my career, and it showed methat you can write happy songs and still create something with real meaning.”