“I Turned Away”

With just one EP and a handful of singles, the London-based singer-songwriter Westerman has already crafted a transfixing style. His electronic folk is hushed and silky, melding the hypnotic production of Arthur Russell with the haunting air of Nick Drake’s guitars. On “I Turned Away,” the B-side to his recent hit “Confirmation,” his plaintive vocals bob under a minimal beat and ghostly, echoed minor chords. Westerman’s glassy falsetto sidles up against the track’s sparse production (provided by UK electronic artist Bullion), its subdued tones living in the stretched-out spaces between the notes.

“I Turned Away” has a languorous yet uneasy feel, the bemused sorrow of Westerman’s lyrics fitting perfectly into the track’s desolate landscape. “So chameleon, show me your hand/I’m old enough to give up on this romance,” he sings, his defeated smirk almost audible. The song is intermittently pierced with a heavily distorted guitar solo, like a substitute for the turmoil Westerman stifles from his voice. “I turned away from all these moments,” goes the refrain, again and again, as Westerman demonstrates that sometimes, quiet resignation is the only way forward. Westerman possesses all the skills of a great singer-songwriter: in just under four minutes, he’s able to convey his emotions so clearly, you have no choice but to fall under his spell.