Up until now, Keegan Powell’s work could mostly be heard within the context of the Captured Tracks band Chastity, for whom he serves as guitarist and frequent co-writer. However, Powell only writes and records with the group, sitting out their recent tours. So amidst Chastity releasing their full-length debut earlier this year, Powell’s been working on his own material, too. And today he’s giving us our first glimpse of that.

“The Door” is Powell’s debut solo single under his own name. Here’s what he had to say about the track:

I was getting ready to leave for the night and head up to the studio for a session I had booked when “The Door” came to me suddenly. I knew I had to get it down before I started my drive into the night, so I hit record on my voice memo and got the whole thing down. I wrote the lyrics in my head on the drive up and finished the song the next day in the studio. It’s about your demons knocking at your proverbial door and saying “Well, you know … maybe that’s not such a bad idea … ” one day and going “Nah, Nah, I don’t think so … ” the next. It’s an ode to the human cycle of temptation.

A large part of Chastity’s origin story had to do with the scenes of working class Ontario. But Powell’s since adopted Los Angeles as his hometown. The bold guitars and stoned daydream melody of “The Door” conjure up his new surroundings, sounding like all manner of vibrant colors bleeding up into the sky during an aimless cruise down LA’s boulevards. It, however, also recalls the tradition of washed-out, British psych-rock of the late ’80s and early ’90s, churning guitars working like currents that echo the sort of internal, elemental cycles that inspired Powell to write the song.

No matter where “The Door” came from, it’s an exciting first look at Powell’s own work, and hopefully there’s more to follow. Check it out below.

TOUR DATES:

10/09 – Toronto, On @ Horseshoe Tavern
10/16 – New York, NY @ Pianos