“I don’t know what’s going on / your body’s here, but you are gone,” sings Courtney Jenaé Stahl, one half of YVR, in their new song, “Out Of It.” In the latest single from the alt-pop duo, YVR weaves a story of a discouraged lover trying to connect with another who has closed themselves off from the world. With a hazy electro production, courtesy of YVR’s BUDDRO (aka Stephen Stahl), “Out Of It” captures that disconnect when a relationship suffers a communication breakdown. Courtney’s vocals show the exhaustion from trying to “read between the lines” before she ultimately invites them to get into bed so they could work their way “out of it.”
The song will resonate with anyone who has ever found themselves in that situation of trying to get a loved one to open up — and a wake-up call to those stuck in their heads, as they might be unaware of the damage their silence is causing. “Out Of It,” co-written by YVR’s friend, Jesse Carmichael (founding and current member of Maroon 5), was created “from a very sensitive, internal place,” YVR shares with HollywoodLife. “The lyrics talk about the insecurity and frustration that we experience when someone refuses to tell us what is really going on in their mind and heart.”
The song marks the second song from YVR in 2021. The duo previously released “What If,” a track featured on Los Angeles’ Alt 98.7. Written in the heart of the 2020 pandemic, YVR’s Courtney told HollywoodLife that the track was about struggling from spiraling into overthinking about things. “My biggest worry became “what if I ‘what if’ my whole life away and forget to live in the moment? … What If’ is about the internal battle that happens when you become fixated on the end goal and not the journey.”
YVR’s journey has resumed in 2021. Their first two EPs – 2019’s Night Days and 2020’s How Have You Been – helped build a buzz for this creative duo, earning them critical acclaim and an invitation to perform at South By Southwest. While COVID-19 scuttled that performance, it hasn’t done much to slow the band’s ascent to the top of your heart – and the top of your favorite playlists. After working behind the scenes to help shape the sound of KPop (the two wrote and produced on music for groups like EXO, Red Velvet, and Girls Generation) to the sound of over 5 million records sold and a combined 10 no. 1 singles, YVR has decided to get “out of” the background and into the spotlight.