Waves That Stray is alone with his dark thoughts in his darkly beautiful single and video Inside My Head — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
For this followup track to his acclaimed eponymous debut, Canadian indie artist Sean MacLean shares the vulnerability of being locked in the creative cage, plagued by procrastination, fear, stress and self-doubt. “My hope with the video and lyrics to Inside My Head is to strike a chord with artists who are trying to come to terms with their ever-evolving creative process and insecurities,” he says.
The song is a collaboration between MacLean, songwriter Gabriel Maciel, guitarist Ezra Perlman and Belgian producer Dorian Voos (aka Awaike). Fusing the best parts of electronica and rock, Inside My Head gives nods to the distinct sound of influential groups like TV On The Radio, LCD Soundsystem and The Dirty Projectors. The loops are ethereal, the lyrics haunting, the beats hypnotic — yet the guitar still rocks.
The listener gets the sense that the desire to break free from one’s own head is a fight for life itself, and the corresponding video depicts an alternating desperation and ennui. It begins with MacLean in stop-motion as he tries on different identities — businessman, homeless person, rapper, construction worker — and then shifts to a scene where he’s having his face painted, his eyes closed. After an artist paints eyes over his closed lids, he walks the streets, trapped deep inside his own head.
Waves That Stray made his debut with a self-titled album in 2017. The video for the single Brick By Brick went viral two days after its release. From there, the Toronto artist’s distinctively haunting vocals were featured on U.S. Girls’ track Rosebud.
Watch Inside My Head above, hear more from Waves That Stray below, and get the inside line at his website, Facebook and Instagram.
