Some artists seek clarity when lost in a haze; others cloak themselves in the smog and wind some synths around it. FifteenØeight fall into the latter category on “Empty Handed,” a misty shroud of electro-pop that arrives today (January 30). The follow-up to the Boston duo’s 2024 album TRUTHFULLY is a series of contemplations that escalates from a simple acoustic guitar melody to towers of flickering synths. “Am I just floating around? / Excusing all my actions?” singer Daphne Eleftheriadou calmly asks amidst the maelstrom, later sharing the almost-mythical lyric “I should have let the water strip away my skin.” Step into the coordinated chaos below.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Courchesne