NY-native, DIY indie pop auteur Gerald Slevin recently shared his single entitled Agnostic About You, teasing an upcoming 2023 album, Quantum Jitters.
The word “agnostic” is used on the single as a metaphor distinct from any theological context, but rather about disillusionment in a personal relationship, as Slevin explained: “It’s more about looking at past relationships to the point that you start questioning whether or not a person you loved or thought you loved ever really existed.”
The conceptually-focused artist plays several instruments and has had a prolific creative career so far with several impressive achievements. He initially gained some notoriety as the songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer of Brooklyn’s psychedelic, vocal harmony-driven artpop outfit, The Color Bars. This would eventually take Slevin around the world, and result in a record deal with Tokyo-based label, 5D. Performing in Japan resulted in a flourish of creativity for Slevin which led to 4 albums, several tours and a string of singles.
More recently, Slevin retreated to Upstate NY to immerse himself more fully in this current solo project. He has shared that his forthcoming album will be a concept album that utilises quantum entanglement as a metaphor for exploring the contradictions of love and relationships. On the side, Slevin is a classically-trained painter and visual artist who has exhibited and painted for the living Art World legend Jeff Koons in his Manhattan workshop. He also does all of his own surrealistic artwork, really embodying the meaning of DIY in his practice.
Agnostic About You is a cool and easy, yet immense-sounding, almost 5-minute-long indie pop track with a soaring, infectious chorus, and colourful production value. Central to the song is a two-part harmony vocal Slevin sings with his wife, Rachel. About her involvement, Slevin explains “it was originally just my own voice, which didn’t quite feel right. She had the idea to do it as a duet, because the lyrics mention the famously duetting Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, so it’s also a bit of an homage. You get this intense effect where two people are sort of feuding by singing both with and at each other. But it’s ultimately uplifting because they’re singing in harmony and turning it all into a song.”
