Kevin Bronson on June 4th, 2020

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Austin native Cori Elliott first moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, soon thereafter fronting the indie-rock band the Vim Dicta, whose proggy (and mesmerizing) psychedelic blues fit into the L.A. scene, unfortunately, like a square peg in a round hole. So it figures that Elliott’s first solo foray into pop is strikingly left-of-center.

On Friday, Elliott releases her first single “Eyes,” a clear-eyed reconciling of relationship dynamics that seethes to woozy synths and throbbing beats. “The inspiration behind ‘Eyes’ comes from the tug-of-war of bettering yourself vs. changing yourself for the person you’re with,” she says, “but then coming to the conclusion that maybe that edge/quirk and those off-kilter qualities you possess have been the attraction the whole time and ultimately, just owning it.”

The song is the first from Elliott’s debut album “Between Two Places,” out Aug. 21, a release that, she warns, draws from a wide sonic palette. “I hope people can see that expression in song, from one artist, doesn’t have to be defined by one genre,” she says.

The songs on the album were written on guitar, but “Eyes” took the singer-songwriter in another direction. Initially, she says, “It had a pretty grunge feel and inspiration to it, and when I sat with my producer [Josh Grondin] to lay out the foundation, we both mutually felt drawn to the idea of this pulsing beat building tension throughout to achieve the darker emotions and hypnotic undertones the song naturally emits.”

||| Stream: “Eyes”