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Apr 23, 2024 By Caleb Campbell

ÖZLEM is the moniker of singer/songwriter Liam Lyons-Shields, through which they explore the world of left-of-center pop. Their previous releases have touched on synth pop, disco, and smokey power balladry, while their latest single, “DURANGO,” takes inspiration from the dramatic soundtracks for vintage spaghetti-westerns and melancholic ‘60s duets. Today, ÖZLEM is back with an accompanying video for “DURANGO,” premiering with Under the Radar.

The video opens in a moment of delicate intimacy, first with a spoken-word intro adorned in glittering synths, then with ÖZLEM accompanied by flamenco-tinged fingerpicking. As the song winds onward it blends into a decadent swirl of swaying rhythms and percussive guitar tones, all centered on ÖZLEM’s magnetic vocal performance. They imbue the track with a ghostly mournful quality, but also lean into the track’s ‘60s pop sheen, layering their vocals together in beautiful lovelorn harmonies.

Meanwhile, the video frames them as a ghost roaming a gothic cathedral, pining for an unrequited love. Yet, the song and video end on a moment of catharsis, with ÖZLEM bidding farewell to their love and finally finding peace, making the sacrifice to move on before their heart is once again broken: “Oh, I’m gone tomorrow / Before the sorrow / Though I don’t want to go / Oh, farewell Durango / You saw in me an ever-longing soul / And I thought that I had known you long ago.”

ÖZLEM says of the song and video, “The film is symbolic of my quest to free myself from years of heartache over unrequited and unsuccessful love. Writing the song was an extreme catharsis as it’s a story straight from my life, as opposed to most of my work which exists in a fantasy space or deals in metaphors. I confess my perpetual longing for love, but find the confidence and self-worth to walk away when I see that the relationship is not serving either of us.”

The “DURANGO” video was directed by Peter McCain, a Brooklyn-based photographer, filmmaker, and editor-in-chief of Batshit Times Magazine, and filmed at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church and the Evergreens Cemetery.

Check out the song and video below, out everywhere now.