Houston in the Blind – “Drifting” [Song Review]

“Drifting” is a track lifted from the upcoming album Hide The Glow by indie band Houston in the Blind, which formed in 2014 and followed by releasing their debut album, Limbs, in 2015. Limbs became an indie hit and was featured on many Year-end Best of lists.

Wanting a change of scenery from Athens, Georgia, frontman Charlie Garrett elected to move to Los Angeles. Garrett thought he would commute from LA to Georgia to play shows and record.

As Garrett says, “But that’s not what happened. We completely disintegrated as soon as I told everyone I was moving.”

Nine years later, after unexpected life events, several cross-country relocations, fruitless recording sessions, crippling depression, and self-doubt, Garrett, aka Houston in the Blind, releases an appetizer – “Drifting” – from the forthcoming Hide The Glow. “Drifting “mirrors what happens when expectations and reality don’t align.

“Drifting” opens on intense, psych-rock tones flowing into a dreamy melody that elevates to a shoegaze wall of sound topped by Garrett’s gently gliding vocals, invoking a creamy wistfulness and a profound sense of patient acceptance.

Houston in the Blind, photo by Kristofer Sampson

The juxtaposition of Garrett’s wonderfully haunting voice against edgy shoegaze textures seems counterintuitive but works so well that it makes you question your understanding of music.

With its stark ashen surfaces and reverie-like vocals, “Drifting” is simultaneously amazingly cathartic and mesmerizing.

Run Time: 4:07
Release Date: April 12, 2024
Record Label: Independent