The Familiar – Starry Eyes (2023)
Let me tell you a tale of serendipitous nature. A tale of beautiful chance encounters and sublime consequences. Just over 10 years ago – give or take – an American and Norwegian met above the Arctic Circle during Norway’s season of darkness (also known as mørketiden). Like a film, the two continued their friendship which spawned into a seductive transatlantic electropop duo known as The Familiar. Combining Nordic calm with New York sass, vocalist Ruth Mirsky and producer Mads Martinsen found an elegant connection where two alternate lifestyles become, well, familiar.
With three critically acclaimed EPs, a string of singles and the well-received debut album Shelter, The Familiar establish themselves as a force of nature within the indie electronic scene. Along with praise from international publications and coverage on radio stations and playlists, their passionate melodies have been used in commercials and in TV series such as MTV’s Stitchers. The latest addition to their discography is the single ‘Starry Eyes’.
Following their four-track EP White Poison Reworks, ‘Starry Eyes’ is The Familiar’s first single of 2023 and the first released through UK-based record label #remarQabl. Similar to the single ‘White Poison Reworks’, The Familiar show a shift in their sound compared to 2021’s Shelter adopting a more ethereal sonic landscape. ‘Starry Eyes’ takes this evolution in their sound one step further.
Unlike ‘White Poison Reworks’, ‘Starry Eyes’ drops the hazy etherealness replacing it with a bolder, stronger and less foggy whirl of music. Synth-driven, the melody has a soothing but haunting tone; however, the smoothness of this mellifluous flow is punctured by Mirsky’s obscure vocals. Gentle and calm but a little off-kilter, a slight discomfort flits through ‘Starry Eyes’. The thing is, just as there is a mild unbalanced quality it all comes together in a harmonic river of electropop.
Melancholic, haunting and oozing vulnerability, ‘Starry Eyes’ connects with listeners in a poignant way. Then again, just as the pair explores human fragility, optimism and hopefulness surges through the song. It appears that Mirsky and Martinsen find the familiar connection once again…and we love it!
For more from The Familiar, check out their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
