James Austin Melton – “Pillow’s Door”

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Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter James Austin Melton captivates with an alluring sophisti-pop sound on new single “Pillow’s Door.” The track comes via Melton’s new two-track EP, Adaptive Fiction, which enjoyably showcases his folk, jazz, and pop intertwining. Melton describes the release as about exploring “the lives we lead in dreams—our adventures, transformations, and the selves we become—only to struggle to remember them upon waking.” The more folk-led, vocal-fronted appeal of “Pillow’s Door” moves cohesively into the EP’s title track, a nearly 15-minute epic that spans from gripping jazz to lush folk.

Melton says regarding “Pillow’s Door”: “It’s a song about feeling something greater beyond the pillow’s door yet never quite piecing it together in reality. The composition remains fluid and natural despite shifting keys and time signatures, never feeling forced or overly complex.”

“Pillow’s Door” commences with acoustic-laden intrigue, as vocals reflect on previous dreams and how their excitements and intricacies fade as one awakes. “I’m at the pillow’s door,” his vocals exude as brass, acoustics, and pit-pattering percussion meld seamlessly. A desire to go back “to the place past the sunrise,” beckons for that dream-like state, resonating in its themes of escapism as one awakens to a more tumult-filled world. “Pillow’s Door” and the stirring “Adaptive Fiction” comprise a fantastic EP from James Austin Melton, full of jazz, folk, and pop sophistication.

Stream “Pillow’s Door” and the EP’s title track, below:

This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.

Mike Mineo

I'm the founder/editor of Obscure Sound, which was formed in 2006. Previously, I wrote for PopMatters and Stylus Magazine.

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