Words like “authentic” are often thrown around pretty recklessly in the music industry, but with Yorkshire-born Aeris Roves, it’s more than just a buzzword to throw into press releases.
Ever since he released his 2018 debut album, Moon By Island Gardens, Aries Roves has been a consistent source of gentle and thoughtful songwriting, often in the realm of R&B. Those first releases were an appealing blend of UK swagger and West Coast haziness, but his latest single, “Pulling Me Closer”, stretches beyond the confines of what you’d normally describe as R&B and into something a little harder to pin down.
Save for a gentle backing vocal fluttering behind him, “Pulling Me Closer” strips away all the electronics, however muted, of his past releases to leave little more than Roves’ cloud-grazing vocals and a gentle guitar strum. It’s those raw essentials that are often the test of a songwriter, but Aeris sounds more comfortable and relaxed than ever even as he describes the very unrelaxed feeling of the intense early stages of romance. You’ll also be pleased to know that the indefinable West Coast chill is still right at the heart of it all.
“‘Pulling Me Closer’ is a song that started off as an unfinished acoustic idea on Instagram, and it was shared by Billie Eilish,” Aeris Roves tells Complex. “A trip to Los Angeles with Two Inch Punch offered the inspiration needed to finish the production. Thematically, it explores a situation of initial attraction, in that it’s unexpected and intense, pondering the fact that once it takes hold, it’s very difficult to let go of.”
Stream “Pulling Me Closer” exclusively below.
