With Chained, Alwyn Morrison emerges as an artist unafraid to peel back emotional layers and lay his truth bare. Born in New York and recorded in Los Angeles with producer Michael Carey, Chained is Morrison’s most personal song to date. The track opens with softly rustling guitar strums and gentle, steady drums, minimalist and intimate, like stepping into a confession. But it’s Alwyn’s voice that truly steals the show. Rich like dark chocolate and husky with emotion, his vocals carry both youthful tenderness and aching wisdom.
“Chained” is about loving someone suffering from depression, and the dual heartbreak of being unable to help while refusing to walk away. The lyricism is visual and poetic as he explains how he’s chained to a darkroom. And when you find out that he wrote it mid-flight, fell asleep, and woke up to find it fully formed, the song takes on a kind of magic—like it was waiting all along to be heard.
The production is restrained, and that’s what makes it effective. Nothing is trying to distract from the emotion. Even the background vocals were added spontaneously during recording.
It’s hard not to be affected when you learn the story behind it—that this was the first song Alwyn ever recorded, and when he played it for the person it was written for, they both cried. Listen to Alwyn Morrison and get voluntarily chained to his voice.
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Photo Credit: Denice Flores Almendares
Review by: Naomi Joan