Trav Collins’ ‘Lucid Sight’ is a blissful reflection on finding clarity amidst turmoil, showcasing his captivating live instrumentation and hinting at a promising future in emotional pop.
As a musical valium to calm ones mind amidst a clamour of frantic thoughts, Adelaide multi-instrumentalist Trav Collins’, ‘Lucid Sight’ is a blissfully reflective song about trying to find mental clarity in the toughest of situations.
Arriving as the inaugural release of a new song series, ‘Lucid Sight’ marks Trav Collins’ second single in just two years.
Since setting out on the roads of South Australia in 2016, to play many shows across the country, Trav Collins has carved a fascinating career playing everywhere from the top end to front bars and forest festivals.
With his live instrumentation of 12-string guitar, didgeridoo, banjo and harmonica, Collins has set hearts yearning and feet tapping all over our wide brown land.
His second single, ‘Lucid Sight’, is crafted from a depth of human experience gathered from these travels, which immediately grabs our attention with its deeply resonant tones.
“I pity those with clarity all the time”, Collins purrs, after his sparse acoustic guitar leads a gradual rise of instruments towards the song’s chorus. Layers of long psychedelic guitar noters segue into milky lead lines before gentle drums enter halfway through, as ‘Lucid Sight’ slips and slides in its cosmic grandeur.
Atop this musical melange, Collins delivers his ruminations on the human struggle for mental clarity through chaos. “Just a little clarity would be nice”, he continues, “maybe one day the fog will subside”. From the perspective of this young performer, hinting at overwhelming mental issues of confusion, depression and anxiety, these observations are striking in their frankness, and touching in their vulnerability.
Collins’ vessel for these thoughts is sonically constructed out of vast space and reverb, which allows us to retreat within a plane of contemplation, albeit for five minutes.
Sounding like a heartbeat, a low bass drum enters towards the end of the song, perhaps representing how much of Collins’ own heart has been poured into these lyrics and melodies.
Trav Collins is an emerging artist to keep an eye on.
With its mature touch of emotional pop, not to mention his slaying guitar chops, ‘Lucid Sight’ offers a glimpse into Trav Collins’ artistic growth. Stay connected through his social media for updates on touring, music releases, and to explore his previous works.
Words by Corin Shearston