Route 500 – A Horizon Awaits (2020)
The quest for perfectionism can often hold you back and prevent you from doing what you want or enjoying something. Route 500 is looking to move away from the search for perfectionism and jumps headfirst into a new mantra with ‘A Horizon Awaits’. This raw and emotional single captures more than the move to feel alive. It takes on the mindset of someone experiencing troubles with alcoholism and dissociation after a relapse. Woven into leaving perfectionism, it considers the choice between madness and the salvation of sobriety.
This debut single really sets the stage for this new independent project that is looking for a new beginning with creative freedom and purity. While the single is captivating on its own, the accompanying music video offers a metaphorical and visual representation of the choices in the lyrics.
‘A Horizon Awaits’ uses a gentle guitar opening to draw you into the soft soundscape. The guitar line lightly drapes over you and envelops you in the melody. The gentle melody continues throughout the single helping the vocals shine. The movement of the guitar line also pushes the emotional impact of the single as it matches the emotive vocal performance. At times it is light and lets you float to something new before swinging to a more powerful tone that sends you soaring.
The vocals have an interesting tone as they are both hazy and solid. They smoothly enter from the lower levels of the single continuing the floating sensation created by the opening melody. The vocal flow is very easy to relax into and allows you to gently float in the direction they want. This turns into a more powerful soaring on the chorus and later in the single. Each word is packed full of emotions that sink into your skin and settle deep in your chest.
The accompanying video offers a black and white journey through the Scottish Highlands. This continues the lo-fi vibes of the single and puts you into a calm bubble as you listen. There is a light static over the video that makes you think of old movies on reels. The almost abstract connection between the video and the single helps the emotional hits from the lyrics land a little harder.
Route 500 is looking for freedom while choosing between madness and salvation in the beautifully bleak ‘A Horizon Awaits’. The single offers a relaxed atmosphere as you are taken through the struggles and dissociation following a relapse. The accompanying music video offers a black and white scenic journey providing an abstract path through these trying times.
Find out more about Route 500 on his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
