To begin writing about a song, I generally start with jotting down a few notes about what sticks out. It’s forceful vocals or layered instrumentals or clever lyrics. When I first heard CLEARLY OVERBOARD, off the debut LP ELPIS from Somerville band CHAPARRALS, I played it again, and again. I didn’t write any notes. I simply wanted to hear it one more time.

The song swims through gentle guitars, light drums, and delicate hits of the cymbal. A clear soothing voice builds ever so slightly at times, only to come back down and sink into the sound.

The video for CEARLY OVERBOARD is as carefully considered as its sister song; it moves just as thoughtfully through various images as the music does through its own subtle waves of energy.

At the start, a still figure on a path faces away from the camera looking deep into the woods. Next, she is inside a museum standing in front of one piece of artwork then another. Other museumgoers move slowly around her. Slices of video are flipped through like old film, stuttering and flickering between shots.

In both the video and the music for CLEARLY OVERBOARD, CHAPARRALS gently and inquisitively grapples with questions of solitude.