Nefeli On Clouds – “Your Eyes”

Nefeli On Clouds is an alt-pop duo based between Greece and Italy, and her new single Your Eyes is the kind of song that takes a second to settle in before you fully get what it’s doing.

The track is built around acoustic guitar, bass, atmospheric pads, and Nefeli’s vocals, and the whole thing is kept pretty sparse on purpose. And what impresses me the most is her rich and expressive voice, a talented young artist.

The song is about being in a relationship while knowing your depression is pulling the other person down with you. That’s a heavy thing to write about, and they don’t dress it up. The imagery in the lyrics is blunt in the best way. Eyes changing color, going darker, eventually going pitch black. It’s a visual way of tracking how someone changes around you when the relationship costs them too much. The closing lines hit the hardest, and they stick around after the song ends.

I love that there’s real self-awareness in the writing, guilt, some acceptance, the recognition that love sometimes has to give way to something harder. It’s an uncomfortable thing to sit with, which probably means it’s honest. Alessandro Giovanetto’s production gives it a cinematic quality without being overdone. The artists have cited Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Radiohead as influences, and you can hear traces of that in the mood, even if Your Eyes has its own sound.

If you haven’t followed Nefeli On Clouds yet, her social media is the best place to keep up with where they’re headed this year.