Glass Sands – Auslander (2021)
The brainchild of singer-songwriter Chris Shackleton, Glass Sands is an indie-rock meets shoegaze project. Drawing on his personal experiences, Shackleton layers intimate melodies with insightful lyricism. Featured in Indie Pong, Less Than 1000 Followers, iHeart Radio and now The Other Side Reviews, the London-based artist is reaching audiences on an international level. Following a five-year hiatus, Shackleton releases his single ‘Auslander’.
Using the German word for foreigner, ‘Auslander’ was penned during a stay in Germany. Speaking as an ‘auslander’ in Berlin, Shackleton touches on feelings of loneliness, isolation, longing, fear and anxiety. The shoegaze meets indie-rock melody has a hard-hitting guitar-driven sound, but the vulnerable lyricism adds a fragility to the track.
A kaleidoscopic soundscape, listening to ‘Auslander’ places you in a whirlpool of sound trying desperately to cling onto something solid. Initiating a feeling of sonic confusion, ‘Auslander’ evokes vulnerability and fear of being lost in a desperate situation. The intimate lyricism, executed elegantly by Shackleton, adds fragility to ‘Auslander’ with sentimentality and raw honesty.
Teetering on the edge of ethereal chaos and hard-hitting rock, Glass Sands showcases his versatility and innovativeness as an artist. ‘Auslander’ is a mind-blowing insight of “yearning to fit in in a new and unfamiliar place”. If this is anything to go by, I look forward to more from this captivating musician.
For more from Glass Sands check out his Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
