Letdown. (period included) may have started as a pandemic project for Blake Coddington, but the Chicago/Nashville-based rocker is in a very different place in 2023. Having spent the last three years cultivating a fervent fanbase through a number of single releases and emerging as a striking live act — finally bringing his music into the physical lives of his online fans across several sold-out, headlining shows this past year — Coddington is rapidly growing his presence away from the internet for the first time in Letdown.’s short history.
The powerful vocals and emotional lyrics over catchy, upbeat drums and guitars originally served as a cathartic way for the songwriter to express himself while working a dead-end job that he hated. But 2022 saw Letdown. being signed to Big Loud Rock and move beyond his beginnings as a viral, at-home musician. This year, however, represents a whole new start for the passionate vocalist, or as Coddington himself puts it: “It’s Season II of Letdown., and it’s definitely the biggest chapter yet.”
With his debut EP, Crying In The Shower, releasing February 24, 2023 and the ability to continue his touring success with an upcoming month-long run in Europe, as well as North American dates supporting Giovannie & The Hired Guns this spring, “Season II” is looking a lot more action-packed than Letdown.’s first couple of years. It was just three years ago that he began throwing videos on YouTube expecting to get a few hundred views, yet now he’s become a known and respected musical commodity both in-person and online with over 640K followers and 5.1M likes on TikTok, 25+ million views on his YouTube channel, over 80M on demand streams and editorial playlisting from the likes of Spotify’s All New Rock, New Noise, Rock Out and Rock Hard.
“I always feel weird when people ask me how long I’ve been around, because I got so used to telling people that Letdown. was this new thing,” Coddington laughs. “But now we’re touring and we’ve got a record coming out with a label involved and all of this stuff. I know I’m not ‘seasoned’ yet, but it feels new, exciting and different.”
As for the new EP itself, pushing forth a collection of seven songs is still a bit of a new experience for Coddington, who’s gotten this far by steadily releasing a single at a time. The title track and opener is a perfect example of the wild, emotional ride that Letdown. enjoys taking his fans on. The song builds into a pumped-up anthem that you can’t help but sing along to, and behind the reactive hook and catchy rhythm, Letdown. takes listeners through the experience and inner turmoil of trying to get over someone you can’t forget by wailing, “crying in the shower, but I can’t wash you away.”
“You ever listen to happy songs when you’re upset or sad or depressed and they make you feel even worse?” Coddington asks with a smirk. “That’s what ‘Crying in the Shower’ is for me. It’s like, ‘Here’s a list of terrible things, set to an incredibly upbeat, happy beat’ — which is almost a metaphor for me. I’m a happy-looking guy who is quite the opposite on the inside.”
Elsewhere, the EP continues to document Coddington’s internal struggle as he searches for answers in times of darkness, uncertainty and self-doubt on stadium-sized singles “Go To Hell,” “Empty,” “Shipwreck” and “Ugly,” a soaring, pop-rock belter featuring Kelsy Karter & the Heroines that encompasses the types of thoughts related to selfimage and how we perceive ourselves. “That song is a literal depiction of how I feel about myself,” Coddington adds. “It may be a dichotomy between the actual person that I am and the person that I see in the mirror as my flaws are sometimes all I see. As I try to disassociate from the me that I hate, I also struggle with the reality that we are one and the same.”
In regards to the release of his first full body of music, Coddington remains thrilled for his future, the development of Letdown., and continuing to connect with those who have found solace in his powerful online community. “Getting to put out something like an EP seems so classic to me, which makes me really excited about it.” he says. “I’m honestly just excited that people won’t have to select another song after each one and can just ride the wave. I think we’ve really curated it in a way that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster — in the best way possible.”
