Outsides :: "Seesaw"

Chasing the last glimmer in the fading afternoon of the Passion Pit legacy, Outsides, an electro-pop project from Kansas City musician Tim Ellis finds a bit of lingering brilliance on "Seesaw". A glittering syntheizer progression reminiscent of Capital Cities (you can sing "you could be my luck" at a more languid tempo over the opening chords) ends in an ineffable chorus, a lyrical and musical elevation as Ellis sings, "you go up and down like a seesaw." Perhaps reflecting on the unpredictability of a significant other, the singer finally resigns himself to "guess where you'll land." With an EP in the works for later in the summer, Outsides will soon be on the rise himself, a gift for ear-worm melody and the distant synthesizer victories in the tradition of the Small Black and others mining the digital sky for treasure.