Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever tackle lockdown loneliness on new single ‘My Echo’

nme.com:

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have shared a lively new single titled ‘My Echo’, contrasting a jaunty, solo-heavy sound with soul-baring lyrics about feeling trapped in isolation.Written during one of the extended lockdown periods that Melbourne experienced in 2020, the track tackles themes of claustrophobia, anxiety and the damaging effects of a reliance on technology.

In a press release, singer/guitarist Fran Keaney said it’s “about being surrounded by phone screens, computer screens, TV screens, paranoia and loss of time and place”.‘My Echo’ arrives alongside a video directed by longtime collaborator Nick Mckk.

It’s a relatively simple clip, following the band as they jam out in a sprawling, open warehouse. Their surroundings are only visible when illuminated by thumping strobes, with the band – at some points clad in papier-mâché masks representing caricatures of themselves – performing in total darkness for the bulk of the clip.Take a look at the video below:Expounding on the song’s creation, Keaney explained that the final version of ‘My Echo’ is “pretty faithful to the very first rough recording”.

Punctuating the song is a soaring, layered guitar solo, which is driven by one of Keaney’s fellow frontmen, Tom Russo. “Most of Tom’s leads were improvised,” he continued, “but they became the DNA of the song.”‘My Echo’ comes as the third single shared from Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s forthcoming third album, ‘Endless Rooms’, following the release of ‘The Way It Shatters’ in February and ‘Tidal River’ last month.