Clayton Waller is a Mississippi-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who through the release of three full-length albums with his solo recording project Rock Europa has developed a reputation locally for crafting infectious and anthemic indie rock centered around punchy guitars, catchy melodies, heartfelt sincerity and a defiantly DIY ethos. Interestingly, Waller’s fourth, full-length self-titled album thematically is centered around Waller contending with the challenges of a 20 something searching for his own place in the world — and unlike his previously released albums, it was recorded in a professional studio, which has led to what reportedly may be his most polished, ambitious and adventurous albums he has worked on to date.
“Inbetween,” the latest single off Waller’s fourth Rock Europa album is centered around jangling power chords, a sinuous bass line, Waller’s plaintive vocals and a soaring hook. And while nodding at Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac, the song and its restless narrator expresses several different things — a longing to belong to something; the feeling of always rushing around and never having enough time to actually sit down and think about anything; and the feeling of being hopelessly disconnected from everything and everyone, when you’re desperate for any connection; but you don’t know how to do so.
“Neither here nor there: that’s a tough place to be. Sometimes I only feel halfway present. It’s hard for me to live in the now — I’m always looking for the next best thing, always en route,” Waller says of his latest single in press notes. “I get so caught up trying to plan and control my future that I miss a lot of realtime fulfillment.
“It’s safe to say that most of us stay too busy – which I think is partly a reaction to what we value as a culture. We associate worth and meaning with accomplishments. I think it’s good to be driven, but I think it’s more important to be present. I’ve been trying to love myself (and others) right where I am and without qualifications or conditions. I believe that humans are inherently valuable! And if that’s the case, maybe the in-between is what it’s all about”
Shot and edited by Noah Tidmoore, the recently released video was shot on what appears to be Super 8 film and follows a group of friends, who are heading off to the lake for a boating trip — but one of them is a ghost, who lingers a bit uncomfortably on the margins, while his friends are having a wonderful time, enjoying themselves, their youth and the moment. And once he dives in the lake and loses his ghostly sheet, Waller finds himself in the very moment with his friends.
