My Chemical Romance Frontman Gerard Way Releases Four Solo Songs

It's been over a year since Gerard Way unveiled solo material, releasing a pair of wonderful covers with fellow My Chemical Romance guitarist Ray Toro for the Netflix adaption of his own Umbrella Academy: Simon & Garfunkel’s Hazy Shade Of Winter, and The Turtles’ Happy Together.

Now, though, the My Chem frontman is back at it, using "this uncertainty" in the world right now, as Gee says, "to start uploading some unreleased stuff. Just so people can check it out and have something to listen to."

"Just felt like sharing," Gerard continues in an Instagram post. "I think I have a bunch of this stuff, as Doug and I have been recording little bits here and there over the years. Some of these, like Phoning It In, were things that I planned on releasing as singles, and I may still do that at some point when I finish them, but I figured why not. It feels good to share. Who knows if some of this stuff would have ever come out?"

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The accompanying Instagram photo announcing these solo songs is also used as the cover for the track Welcome To The Hotel, and is a picture of Gerard's vocal cords from when he "went to see the ear/nose/throat doc before embarking on this My Chem journey, to make sure everything was in order. He said, 'It’s a little red, but looking good.' I’m calling all of this stuff Distraction Or Despair, since that seems to be the two things I keep shifting between. Probably a lot of other people too. But I think only some of the tracks are tied to an 'album' of that name. I’m just winging it, keeping it casual. May add some notes to the tracks."

Gerard adds that he hopes "everyone is safe and healthy" right now, and he's added a link to the COVID-19 Response Fund, which you can donate to right here.

This is Welcome To The Hotel:

To listen to this audio clip, view the full mobile website.

Here's Success!:

To listen to this audio clip, view the full mobile website.

Crate Amp_2:

To listen to this audio clip, view the full mobile website.

And Phoning It In (2) VOC:

To listen to this audio clip, view the full mobile website.

Discussing his solo music for The Umbrella Academy with Kerrang! last year, Gerard explained that he had a similar creative process to that of writing for My Chemical Romance.

“It’s a bit more work, because it’s for something cinematic,” he said. “It’s not that it has to reach a higher level, it’s just that it’s a different level. The solo stuff is just kind of up to me, and what I want that to convey, or what nature it has. Whereas with the show, everybody has to really be blown away by it.

“So maybe, in a way, it’s more a little bit of what Ray and I and the guys in My Chem used to do; we apply a little bit more of that to what we do in these cover songs for Umbrella Academy.”

The singer went on to say that it felt “fresh and exciting” to revisit that particular process.

“It’s actually really nice to go back and do something like you once did it, because you have more experience and wisdom and knowledge. As you get older you bring all these things the way you used to do. It’s refreshing at times – especially if you’re doing a bunch of experimental things. It’s refreshing to go back to your core, and your roots, of what you used to do, and apply your new knowledge to that.”

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