Our obsession with Brandes seems to grow with every listen. We previously featured the visionary artist for tapping into a high emotional quotient and exploring love, loss and the possibility of renewal on Love In Two Degrees, so when we heard that he was back with Behind Your Eyes, we were curious to say the least and couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
Behind Your Eyes opens with ascending layered piano melody, expanding with guitar and spoken prose as Brandes shares poetic prowess with the words, “Turn on the light now, I want to say your face, your un-self-conscious beauty, your heavy-lidded grace, your hair has kissed my shoulder, my sweat is on your lips, my heart’s in syncopation with the rhythm of your hips, and of what might have happened and oh what might have changed, if you had not sought freedom and I not been constrained, my arrow never reached you, I aimed and fired in vain, the world coheres and falls apart and we’re alone again…”
He reminds us of early Leonard Cohen meet Alan Watts. It’s philosophical yet raw and unfiltered. It’s sensual but not crass. It’s intelligent but not superfluous. A cymbal riser leads us to a high emotional quotient as Brandes confesses a more vulnerable energy.
As the song unfolds, we are drawn into the memory of a love that never quite had the chance to become. Brandes reflects on the small details that stay with us long after someone has gone, from the physical closeness of another person to the painful realisation that circumstances can keep two people apart.
Brandes explains that the song is about a love lost not because the relationship itself failed, but because life’s circumstances drove two people apart. As he puts it, “Something always remains, unresolved, unforgotten and unforgettable.” We could imagine Behind Your Eyes landing a sync placement in a romantic drama such as One Day, or a movie like Saltburn. It could also work well in Past Lives.
We learn that the single is the second release from Brandes‘ forthcoming album, Still Life, due in early 2027, following August’s Love In Two Degrees. Needless to say, we continue to be in awe of the artist, and have added Behind Your Eyes to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream Brandes’ growing discography, and anticipate his album!