On Nov. 12, Alec Duckart, under the artist name Searows, released “Photograph of a Cyclone,” the second single from his upcoming album releasing Jan. 23, Death in the Business of Whaling.

The album’s title and visuals betray a nautical theme, and “Photograph of a Cyclone” is no exception to this concept. The cover art features Duckart hunched in the sea-rotted remains of a long-wrecked ship. Both him and the tilted wreckage are outlined sharply against a pale coastline as the sun glares, peeking through gray clouds.

The track’s sound, too, is deeply reminiscent of the sea. It’s led forward slowly by cyclical acoustic guitar riffs, but is made to feel slower by the easygoing, heavy-sounding drums. The percussion feels almost waterlogged, like an old boat swaying gently on rolling waves.

If the track’s instrumentation is a boat on the sea, Duckart’s vocals are the sun peering through heavy clouds to reflect on the water’s surface. His tone is bittersweet and achy, blending with the instrumentation to create a nostalgic mixture of beauty and sorrow. His words betray longing and desperation:

“Give me anything, please / 

God-awful without permanence”

The chorus also features repetitive, layered harmonies of wordless humming and vocalizing, swaying along with nautical rhythm.

Considering this track and the project’s other single, “Dearly Missed,” Death in the Business of Whaling is shaping up to be an atmospheric, grandiose album that is sure to showcase Duckart’s skills as an artist at the forefront of indie folk.