"Out Of Sight" is the latest single from UK indie alt-rock artist Chelou and is an introspective journey of serene poetry and explosive sound; And it's that juxtaposition that makes Chelou a true avant-garde of modern alt-rock. The single officially drops everywhere on 12.30 but check out this EARMILK exclusive first listen below.
Right from the start, "Out Of Sight" unapologetically dives head first into a menacing intro – similar to the haunting starts of my own beloved screaming punk rock ballads of the early 2000s. But then a familiar Fleetwood Mac style guitar peeks in through the background and begins plucking away at your soul. By the end of the 3:30 long track, you're left motionless, with raw emotions left completely exposed and your body wanting nothing else to do but hit repeat.
With a dualing mix of various sounds this track is a beautiful balance of complex classic and modern production techniques. There's an intimacy found in the vocal delivery that exposes an introspective feel to the track. Of the songwriting, Chelou shared, "I wrote the first verse about losing my first drummer, the things that had happened behind closed doors in order to move forward with the band and so the song continues to sum up where I was at the time, representing the struggle."
But it's hard not to escape the dark undertones of the track. The music erupts into this explosive climax but even as the various sounds speeds up at the end, the vocals maintain a steady solemn tone. Within the chorus, we do find the vocals beginning to rise in momentum but it's the fact that the overall tone never falters that let's the track maintain that sense of serenity. "I’m trying to get going but I already see that I’m done”. Despite this (lyric) the song has an overall sentiment of hope at the end – despite my running and feeling of disillusion, there was always hope," said Chelou.
Emerging in 2014 with his viral hit single, "The Quiet", Chelou's sound immediately caught the ears of artist Maya Jane Coles who featured Chelou on her debut Nocturnal Sunshine album. Since then, he's continued to pick up a pretty impressive bill of collaborative work with artists like Maya Jane Coles, Nocturnal Sunshine, Ross From Friends, Kojey Radical and Poté. He's already graced the stage of notable festivals around the world like Bestival, Shambala, Eurosonic, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, Zandari Festival, and Live At Leeds just to name a few. With over 30 million total streams to date across all major platforms, over 60k Vevo subscribers and 98k monthly listeners on Spotify, Chelou is a highly talented musician creating some incredible music right now. He is with a doubt an up-and-coming force in the indie/alt scene to watch out for.
Artwork: Robin Eisenberg
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