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Conor Houston – Outside The Grocery Store

Libby Driscoll

Rising from gentle, spacey synths, “Does your mother know what you did” is sang in a haunting Bowie-esk style, greeting us as we delve into the Avant-Pop vision of Conor Houston…

Conor Houston - Outside The Grocery Store

The up and coming single explores a dark and haunting narrative. ‘Outside The Grocery Store’ was written earlier this year amid the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd. With the lyrics written from the point of a police officer, the detached theme is positively, and uniquely ominous.

Travelling into the surrealist soundscape following a verse of atmospheric electronic chords and dominant lyrics, R&B style drums introduce a contrasting groovy rhythm section over the ambient electric pads, expanding deeper into the tracks mysterious narrative.

Slowly growing in texture and substance, ‘Outside The Grocery Store’ becomes a hypnotic array of sound- welcoming a middle eight which commands you to listen and absorb Conor’s poetic lyrics. Feeling as if the song was scored for a dystopian space adventure, the electronic melodies and metallic decorations cement the track’s unworldly aura, with each melodic layer of the track weaving and working with one another in an aesthetically creepy manor.

Pictured: Conor Houston

The up and coming track is certainly multidimensional- the contrasting whir of electronic effects, glitzy synthesisers, fuzzy guitars and foreign toned vocals, it feels as if you’re absorbing the track from all angles, experiencing it as opposed to merely listening to it. The overall composition of the track is definitely addictive, but when paired with its peculiar narrative, ‘Outside The Grocery Store’ meticulously captures the obscure and formidable energy of 2020.

Keep your eyes peeled for ‘Outside The Grocery Store’s release set for 20th November…