Sea Lemon - “Cellar”
“Cellar” is the mesmerizingly gorgeous shoegaze track from Seattle-based artist Sea Lemon. The song is filled with fuzzy guitar textures and haunting vocals.
A rhythmic pad is established by the track’s opening lo-fi guitar. It sounds like it is coated wonderfully in a tape effect and it adds warmth throughout the production. Fuzzy guitars surge into life over the song’s main sections, giving a sense of growing dynamics and width. The warmth of the pulsing bass beneath the arrangement provides depth while the drums produce a steady groove. Jangly reverberated guitar is added in the odd place, adding a touch of mood and ambience.
The dynamics of the song are a highlight, with layers being removed during the verses only to return for the choruses. The tension and release produced by the instrumentation’s ebb and flow keeps the song engaging. The vocal performance, like all great shoegaze songs, is airy, ethereal, and nicely coated in reverb, giving a dreamlike atmosphere.
For “Cellar,” Sea Lemon drew influence from her love of vintage slasher and thriller films: “That idea of the 'cellar' in the song is based on the traditional horror trope where the protagonist can’t help but discover what’s lurking in the basement, and that what they find there often represents something really dark and horrifying. In the lyrics, I say ‘the cellar is where I belong’ which is me grappling with this idea that sometimes really terrifying imagery interests me the most.”
“Cellar,” by Sea Lemon, perfectly combines shoegaze and lo-fi tones. The song breezily wins you over with its gorgeous vocal performance and well thought out dynamic changes.