By Charlie Maybee
With the release of Resolving Shores looming on the horizon, electro pop musician, Graffiti Welfare (aka George Lattimore) has released one last moody single, titled “DejaBlue”, to signal its impending arrival.
With vocals that feel more like gentle gasps, this is a song that revels in a delicate state of softness. “DejaBlue / Never knowing why” is the sole line of lyrics that echo and sigh repeatedly through the song like a lullaby. It is truly more of an instrumental track that harkens to the swilling energy of “Love Like a Sunset (Part I)” by the seminal French indie pop giants, Phoenix. The lyrics are seemingly inconsequential as they fade into a sea of arpeggiated synthesizers and gentle drums.
The whole composition carries the listener through a calm meditation that harkens to some of the trippy, psychedelic feelings of their previous singles (Volume and Just Follow have both been covered by Alchemical Records). Two thirds of the way through, there’s a slight shift as the bass becomes a little bouncier and the electronic sounds circle around your head in a more concentrated fashion. But don’t be deterred – it’s a warranted shift that doesn’t deviate to far from where it came. Just enough to help us transition to whatever is coming next (on the album presumably).
And if you need some visual accompaniment to your experience of this song, Graffiti Welfare has released an official music video on YouTube filled with overlapping images of beaches dripping with childhood nostalgia. Pulling on the emotional resonance that moments of déjà vu often provide, the flowing water, waves, and memories of family all crash together in a beautiful collage that will leave you ready to drop everything, pack your bags, and head for the coast.
“DejaBlue” is available on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Beatport, Deezer, and TIDAL. Graffiti Welfare’s upcoming album, Resolving Shores, is set to be release on June 17, 2022.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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