The EP ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’ by Allison Ponthier was released on May 3rd this year to much anticipation. The collection of music is said to be the final installment to the narrative trilogy introduced with Ponthier’s 2021 debut EP Faking My Own Death and the EP Shaking Hands With Elvis that was released in 2022. The new music explores such complicated subjects as imposter syndrome, obsession, self-denial, and the vulnerability of true connection. ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’ also represents a moment where Ponthier rediscovered her passion for music after nearly considering a change to stop creating. “I went through something in 2022, 2023 where I was like I don’t know what I want, I don’t know who I am and I had to take some time to figure it out,” she explained that she made changes in her life to rediscover that passion, stating, “this record made me fall in love with music again and and I’m really grateful of my project. I was really socially anxious, I was in a different place when I started this project and the biggest gift that I ever received from this project was self-growth.” With songs like “Skin” and “Crash Test Dummy”, Ponthier shows her vulnerability and aspects of herself, as the latter details “the experience of putting other people first out of discomfort or admiration for them,” Ponthier stated. “Historically, I have a huge phobia of cars and driving, so the idea of throwing myself through a windshield just because someone asked me to seemed like the best way to express that conflict. It was the scariest thing I could think of, and also the saddest.” Ponthier just wrapped up her run opening for Maren Morris and will hit the road in the fall as the tour opener for NIKI.
Allison Ponthier spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about how re-prioritizing parts of her life helped her gain a fresh perspective and lead to writing ‘Breaking The Fourth Wall’, she speaks about Hayley Williams’ influence, visual art and more.
