Searows - 'Photograph of a Cyclone'
Searows captures the stillness after the storm in ‘Photograph of a Cyclone’.
Halloween may be a couple of weeks behind us now, but Searows refuses to let the spooky spirit fade with the vampire-themed music video for his second single, ‘Photograph of a Cyclone’, from his forthcoming sophomore album ‘Death in the Business of Whaling’.
His first single, ‘Dearly Missed’, was a six-minute rock anthem that built towards a catastrophic climax, with thrashing guitar leads and raw, impassioned vocals. ‘Photograph of a Cyclone’ serves as the calm after the storm: the sun poking through the clouds and the realisation that there is still life after devastation.
From the opening moments, we are met with breezy, nostalgia-tinged guitar lines that exude quiet melancholy. A soft, summery instrumental blends effortlessly with Alec Duckart’s distinctive delivery. There is cautious optimism in the air, but it is the song writing that stands out most, with Alec lamenting how he “pulled it out from the ruins far beneath me”.
The video feels as bright as the song sounds. Shot on Hi8 tape and directed by Marlowe Ostara, it plays out like a home movie from a childhood Halloween. Dracula-inspired costumes and playful antics are set to the song’s riff-driven chorus, enhancing the wistful sense of reminiscence. Alec explains the inspiration behind the song below:
“When I initially started writing this song I went into it without a real intention of what I was trying to say. It was one of those songs for me where I didn’t know what it meant until after it was finished, which occasionally happens when I write. This song is about repeating cycles you learned from your surroundings or culture, and feeling incapable of doing anything different. It’s about witnessing chaos in your world and in your periphery and not knowing what else to do but watch it happen. Sometimes you can create art from that chaos. But you aren’t sure if the creation in itself is a new perspective or understanding, or simply a picture of it.”
The verses expand on this idea, with Alec trying to make sense of the senseless. “Wasting hours in old country, sing the anthem absentmindedly” captures the sense of time slipping away under the pressures of modern life. Although the song feels airy and dreamlike, its lyrics reveal a deeper unease. Life is unpredictable, shaped by tragedy, success, and fleeting memory. Accepting this chaos is part of living, and Alec offsets its weight through the song’s light, open textures. Even the title encapsulates its spirit: we all romanticise the past, but when we look back, it is rarely as golden as we remember.
With ‘Dearly Missed’, Searows distilled the stages of grief into a single track. With ‘Photograph of a Cyclone’, he explores the blurred lines between beauty and sorrow. The tragedy may have passed, but the trauma remains. After a successful 2024 supporting Ethel Cain and Gracie Abrams, ‘Death in the Business of Whaling’ is set for release on 23 January 2026.
Words by Alexander Peters
