Escape Reality With Orion Sun’s “Getaway”

Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Orion Sun returned March 11 with Getaway EP.

Following 2020’s Hold Space For Me, Orion Sun’s Getaway EP continues her trend of feeling thorough (at times, contradicting) emotions by way of brief, poetic musings set to a lo-fi R&B backdrop.

Written largely during the most locked-down portions of the pandemic, a primary theme of the six-track EP centers on pressure to live up to expectations and make others — or even herself — proud.

“All this pressure on me got me wishin’ I was six feet deep in the yard,” Orion sings on “pressure,” the EP’s second track. 

This lament on stress-inducing expectations is followed by “concrete,” a gentler song with a chorus repeating, “They waiting to see, all eyes still on me. But I know somewhere you so proud of me … It’s all I can see, means so much to me.”

Where “pressure” points to its subject’s negative aspects, “concrete” counters with feelings the stress may all be worth it for the pride of a loved one. The image of someone, “somewhere” being “so proud of me” seems to imply the person Orion seeks approval from is removed, watching from the sidelines and unable or unwilling to acknowledge her achievements. Perhaps they have passed on, or perhaps are just no longer present for one reason or another. Regardless, the outcome is the same; this person may not acknowledge it, but Orion is confident in their pride nonetheless.

Fourth track “dirty dancer” slips into another of the EP’s central themes — love and longing for connection. In no uncertain terms, Orion outlines a tangible yearning for romantic connection; mundane daily tasks are a waiting game as thoughts fixate on the other person. It’s a dance between need for validation and playing it cool, a clear departure from the security of “concrete” and a turn toward the anxieties of relationships.

“You got me waiting by the phone. Waiting for my food. Waiting for my clothes to dry, thinking of you. I’m waiting for a sign. Waiting for my game to load. Waiting for spring, can’t stop thinking ‘bout you … I just wanna be the one you want to dance with.”

– Orion Sun, “dirty dancer”

Cerebral instrumentals throughout Getaway strung together by saxophone and sparkly synths ring reminiscent of SZA, Frank Ocean or even 22, A Million-era Bon Iver. As the EP draws to a close, it grows increasingly fluid — especially as its final two tracks, “without you (interlude)” and “celebration,” include a looser structure and no drums. Listeners are left floating on a pillow of poetic emotion, spacey synths and sparse instrumentation as Orion’s vocals fade out, repeating disbelief at a connection found in someone else.

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Written by Morgan Ciocca

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