Westerman has released the second single from his upcoming sophomore EP, Ark. “Outside Sublime” is a typically wistful and painstakingly-crafted pop song in the vein of the London singer-songwriter’s other singles, dominated by slithering fretless bass textures, phased guitar, and Westerman’s plaintive, straight-toned vocals. The inspirational final refrain (“Be what you want/I’ll always be your champion”) points toward the inspiration for the song, as Westerman explains it in a statement: “I wanted to write a note to a struggling friend. I hoped it would be an arm on the shoulder for anyone finding things difficult. I wanted to be really direct with this, and for it to feel joyful and powerful in an unobtrusive sort of way.”
Westerman previously released the single “Albatross” from the EP, complete with a playful, stuffed-animal-filled video. Ark is due out on November 9. Westerman also released the promising singles “Edison,” “Easy Money,” “I Turned Away,” and particularly “Confirmation” (one of Spin’s favorite songs of the year so far) in 2018, which helped garner him international attention. He will embark on a short United States tour at the end of November. Check out his full list of tour dates here, and listen to “Outside Sublime” below.
UPDATE (11/5/18): Westerman has released a video for “Outside Sublime,” featuring the artist laying in a bed of fantastical flowers on some remote planet, turning into a nude human-adjacent creature who finds a mate while suspended in mid-air. Is it a beautiful daydream or a real pastoral planet that humans can survive on? Who can say—watch the Beatrix-Blaise-directed clip below.
