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Jun 23, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Mecky Elvita Madl

Opal Eskar is the new project from Philadelphia-based indie musicians Karl Blau (vocals), Heyward Howkins (vocals, guitar), and Chet Delcampo (vocals, guitar, bass, keys). The band debuted as a trio last year with a one-off single, “The Sun Is Breakin’ Out,” and this year they brought on Charlie Hall and Robbie Bennett of The War on Drugs for their debut self-titled EP. Today, following the record’s release last month, the band are back with a video for one of the EP’s highlights, “Soft Exchange,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Soft Exchange” simmers at the edge of lush art pop and melodic indie rock, carried by meditative keys and meandering guitar lines. Blau’s soft vocals and the band’s instrumentation gently craft a pastoral scene and the results fit effortlessly into the track’s hazy summer backdrop. The band’s sound thrives in this context, with each member able to lean into their easy creative chemistry and play off each other in luxuriant stretches of winding melody. Meanwhile, the accompanying video evokes the same sense of warmth and dreamy intimacy, painting Blau in the shifting colors of a fading sunset.

Chet Delcampo says of the video, “The ‘Soft Exchange’ video combines Karl (Blau) lounging in a mid-century modern furniture store in the Germantown section of Philly with downtown architectural Philly visuals, with me and Heyward seen amongst a city of sky-reaching bamboo in Philly’s Overbrook Farms neighborhood.

The downtown Philly architecture shots were the result of an afternoon driving around the city and pulling over when a building struck us visually interesting. I knew I wanted to save the camera ascending shot of 70s-style highrise apartments for the bridge in the song.

The furniture store in Germantown is such a cool and evocative place. It’s owned by a friend of Karl’s, so it was easy to get some nice shots of Karl kickin’ it in there.”

Check out the song and video below. The Opal Eskar EP is out everywhere now via Spiral Valley Records.