Big Blue Eyes returns with latest emotive single 'Pockets (feat. Eloelo)'

Brisbane/Sunshine Coast artist, Big Blue Eyes releases their first single since last year’s debut album, ‘Not Everything Is As It Seems’, with the new track ‘Pockets’ which is out now.

Featuring guest vocalist Eloelo, ‘Pockets’ becomes a duet heartbreak track, with Big Blue Eyes (aka Ryan Smart) and Eloelo interweaving vocals, exploring themes of letting go of the things you hold onto from a past relationship.

‘Pockets’ demonstrates a shift in growth from Big Blue Eyes, with Ryan adopting a maturer, richer adult contemporary sound, advancing on the more alt-indie material that would be found on his previous releases. The balance in tones between collaborator Eloelo and Ryan’s vocals works brilliantly, particularly when the layers are stripped back. There’s vulnerability, both masculine and feminine, supporting the themes of heartbreak and moving on. Big Blue Eyes known how to really lift, particularly in the chorus which adds some punch with some dirtied-up guitar and big piano chords. It’s reminiscent of Eskimo Joe’s now classic album, ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’. Watching Ryan’s journey with Big Blue Eyes with his debut album, ‘Not Everything Is As It Seems’ last year was a joy in its own right, but now we’re keen to see him expand with this next step.

Ryan discusses how the track, which was born out of a university assignment, came to be.

“Pockets is a collab track that I’ve been slaving away at for a few years now. It started off as a group writing assignment for Uni with Charlotte (who also sang and my my title track from last years album) and Eloise, which saw us have two weeks working together before COVID hit. From there it shifted to an online writing process due to lockdowns, which was such a bizarre and challenging experience adapting our songwriting procedures,” he said.

“It took a lot more thought and meshing of different ideas due to the online nature of sending ideas and parts back forth, which made the process of writing it more deliberate and took my out of some of my go to writing habits.”

‘Pockets’ showcases a grander sound for the project and a taste of what’s to come in 2023.

Catch Big Blue Eyes at their next live show in Brisbane at The Bearded Lady December 18th, supported by Betty Taylor and 01 THURMAN.

‘Pockets’ is out now on all streaming platforms.