Eric Paslay To Take Fans On Musical Road Trip With New EP, ‘Heartbeat Higher’

New music is on the way from Paslay!

Eric Paslay To Take Fans On Musical Road Trip With New EP, ‘Heartbeat Higher’
Eric Paslay; Photo credit: Rachel Deeb

Eric Paslay will release his new EP, Heartbeat Higher, on Friday, July 3rd, the singer shared in an announcement with Sounds Like Nashville. The EP features four songs, all of which are a representation of the direction the singer wants to take fans with his music.

“I love a great story with a great melody that takes you somewhere and I think we can go on a heck of a road trip together,” says Paslay in an exclusive interview. “We had a blast recording it in the studio and I can’t stop playing it because I’m just a fan of music and I think we really caught some magic in the studio. Each song represents so much of the music I love.”

The project begins with the previously released title track, a free-spirited love song featuring Sarah Buxton. Paslay then leans into a more emotional side with the EP’s second track, “On This Side Of Heaven,” a vulnerable song about losing a loved one, which will be released June 5th.

Eric Paslay; Cover art courtesy of Schmidt PR

“None of us live forever on this earth and in this body and I think everyone thinks about what that’s like and how you’d feel if you lost someone,” he says. “Those are the type of songs that just find you — you don’t go looking for them — and it was meant to be written.”

The only track on the project not written by Paslay is a cover of Mike Posner’s “I Took A Pill In Ibiza,” a song that laments the pitfalls that come along with fame. Paslay explains that he originally heard the upbeat, dance version of the song, and in his version, he uncovers the powerful lyrics.

“The version I knew of it was the complete dance version of it and it’s playing at every rave party with glow sticks, everyone’s just getting plastered to it and this guy’s crying out for help,” he says. “I just thought, ‘How ironic.’ It’s just a perfect picture of pop culture these days of a singer crying out for help and we’re all just getting plastered to it.”

Paslay then closes with the feel-good “Boat In A Bottle,” which finds the singer painting a picture of the perfect summer day and wanting to bottle up all the good feelings and memories that go along with such a day.

While the four songs on Heartbeat Higher certainly stand on their own, Paslay says they also give a glimpse into what is to come on his next full-length album that is set for release later this year.

“I think it just represents the whole project,” he says. “I just thought the best look at the album would be this EP first to get people ready for the whole project.”

Heartbeat Higher EP Track listing:
“Heartbeat Higher” (feat. Sarah Buxton) – Written by Eric Paslay, Sarah Buxton, Zach Crowell (Produced by F. Reid Shippen, Eric Paslay)

“On This Side of Heaven” – Written by Eric Paslay, Jordan Reynolds, Jordan Minton (Produced by F. Reid Shippen, Eric Paslay)

“I Took A Pill In Ibiza” – Written by Mike Posner (Produced by F. Reid Shippen, Eric Paslay)

“Boat In A Bottle” – Written by Eric Paslay, Sarah Buxton, Tofer Brown (Produced by Tofer Brown)