When The Lights Go Down by Seven Shades of Nothing Offers a Movie-Like Experience
When the Lights Go Down is a single released by Australian artist Seven Shades of Nothing, who draws on his experience of working with musicians in the alt-rock scene. Combining alternative rock, cinematic sounds, and a deeply personal narrative, When The Lights Go Down proves to be the culmination of years of learning, refining, and experimenting with the songwriting and music-making process. The song was written, produced, and performed by James Cole, whose experience of learning to support neurodivergent artists and living with autism and ADHD stands at the centre of this complex but emotional sound. The track somehow manages to stand out from the crowded current alt-rock scene while being raw and complicated.
When the Lights Go Down reflects a commentary on disengagement with the modern world. Cole wrote the poem in the beginning, sitting at Oliver’s Hill in Frankston, looking out over Port Phillip Bay and the city of Melbourne, and wishing for the lights to go out, not for destruction, but for the stars to shine again. He described the wish as a metaphor for going beyond the ego, confidence, and chaos of a city and society and accessing clarity to connect to the world's internal and external. This background story provides the song with a poetic honesty that listeners can feel in every line.
The single strikes a balance between grit and atmosphere. Cole takes influences from Nine Inch Nails and Tool, as well as the more cinematic textures of alt-rock, and builds the track layer upon layer before simply taking away everything else to reach the core. Ethereal synths, subtle distortions, and driving guitars create a sonic soundscape that feels vast yet intimate. The final production overdubs came from Troy McCosker at Audio Ninja, who has experience producing alternative, progressive, and metal bands, and adds another level of depth and polish to the track.
What is most interesting about When the Lights Go Down is its balancing act between hopelessness and hopefulness. The lyrics describe a world that is crumbling under itself, but the wreckage also brings lightness and beauty. It is a balance that runs throughout Cole’s larger vision for Seven Shades of Nothing, which includes a visual aspect of each song represented through cinema.
The music video for this single, which tells its own post-apocalyptic tale of survival, also expands the meaning of the song. When The Lights Go Down is more than just a single; it feels like a glimpse into a much larger world. Seven Shades of Nothing has something engaging and beautiful.
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