Motsinger bursts at the seams.
Kyle Motsinger is a Broadway baby, of sorts, marrying orchestral-based pop music with singer-songwriter beauty and intoxicating cinematography. His 2017 studio debut, the lo-fi, ’60s-bent Far Away, certainly set the tone for his warm and unique brand. Now, he returns with “Getting Closer,” a synth-pop mid-tempo which reaffirms his talent as a tunesmith, while pushing the boundaries way out of his comfort zone.
In the accompanying visual, which premieres exclusively today, Motsinger traipses across the New York City landscape. The footage ⎯⎯ directed by Tyler Milliron, of Milliron Studios, in what results in the pair’s sixth onscreen collaboration ⎯⎯ filters through starburst exposures, seemingly embodying Motsinger’s own long, winding journey to enlightenment.
“‘Getting Closer’ started as a bit of a challenge to myself. Could I write a simple, fun uptempo song in structure and still tell a story that was meaningful? I came up with a song that felt jazzy and more synth-pop than the songs on my debut album,” Motsinger tells Popdust of writing such a genre-blurring song. “I never intended to record it right away, but my bass player and drummer, Chris Bonner and Zachary Eldridge, insisted we get into the studio. What resulted was a combination of styles that feels like both a throwback to ’90s pop and a continuation of the theatrical music I love to write.”
Popping a vintage cassette tape into his Walkman (yeah, remember those?!), Motsinger is seemingly transported into the past, somehow trapped between spheres. The synths kick in; the blood gets pumping; and the quirky, exuberant performer weaves through the concrete jungle. “Felt like I was getting closer,” he croons, the scratch of production whirling in spades beneath him. “Oh, captain, my captain, gonna seize the day,” he later professes. Soon, he finally learns to swim on his own, arriving at profound self-love and self-worth.
He continues offering insight into the visual, “The ’90s feel of the song leant itself to the style of the video. I wanted it to be a groove around one of the colorful ‘Sing for Hope’ pianos currently on the streets in NYC. Artist Patrick Freeman designed a colorful piano that was placed in Brooklyn Bridge Park for the month of June. I got a colorful romper to wear and a vintage cassette player with headphones to complete the look. The resulting video is a ridiculous trip. It’s colorful and fun to watch, and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.”
“Getting Closer” is out now on iTunes.
Jason Scott is a freelance music journalist with bylines in B-Sides & Badlands, Billboard, PopCrush, Ladygunn, Greatist, AXS, Uproxx, Paste and many others. Follow him on Twitter.
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