Drawing us in with a padded drum riff, expanding into an astral, psychedelic synthscape, Mat Elliot opens Out of Your Hands with a captivating timbre and the situational lyrics, “If you had a dime for every hour, that you waited up at home and he never called you, ghost mode (he’s home late), you had plans (now he says no thanks), I think it’s time to let go of me baby…”
The layered vocals and question-answer delivery are sublime, and we connect with the zen manner in which Mat shares a rather relatable concept, but with a poignant message of acceptance. In essence, Out of Your Hands is about realizing a relationship is falling apart. The key takeaway, which is hugely cathartic, is accepting that we can’t force someone to stay.
It describes a partner who keeps disappearing, and although we keep hoping that things will improve, the realization that we need to let go and trust the universe becomes apparent. The main message is about finally seeing things clearly, and shows us that we cannot control someone who has already let go of us.
As for the vocal design, we are obsessed with the down-pitched moments, the dimensional switch-ups, the choral harmonies, ad-libs and the innovative synth performances, laced with dynamism and instrumental mastery – particularly during the transcendental solo moment. There is no doubt that Out of Your Hands holds a cinematic allure, and would be perfect for a sync placement in a TV show like Nine Perfect Strangers, or My Life with the Walter Boys.
We learn that Out of Your Hands is part of Mat Elliott’s debut album Video Games. The record as a whole explores distraction, vulnerability and notions of modern escapism. It features mixing by John Mullane of Future Dad, mastering by Kristian Montano, and visual direction from Jeff Miller.
Needless to say, we are in awe of the rising artist from Dartmouth, Canada, and have added Out of Your Hands to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream the entirety of Video Games, and anticipate future releases from Mat Elliott!