LATEST RELEASE
Watcher
Complicated Animals have released Watcher, a haunting, cinematic new track, inspired by the duo’s love for crime dramas and Nordic noir TV. The song talks about the fight between good & evil, and questions the meaning of life, and fighting for what’s worth saving.
Monica and Chad created all the sounds in Watcher organically. The intertwined vocal line and melody in the verses build and swell to epic heights in the chorus, as the song takes on a life of its own.
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Complicated Animals - Watcher (Official Lyric Video)
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ABOUT
Complicated Animals make music that glistens in sunshine. Their self-coined Indie Nova genre, beautifully showcases the magic that happens when Indie Pop and Bossa Nova come together to tell a story. Monica da Silva and Chad Alger first came together while living in Chicago in 2008. They survived the blizzards, by drinking red wine and black coffee. Somewhere in that haze, Chad picked up a guitar, Monica made up some lyrics, and the songs they crafted transported them far away from snow, to the beaches of Brazil.
Their first album, ‘Brasilissima’, came out under da Silva’s name in 2010, and featured songs in both of Monica’s native languages, English and Portuguese. The first single ‘Aí Então’, was picked up by Putumayo World Music for their compilation ‘Brazilian Beat’, and the psychedelic track ‘That’s Not The Way’, pumped up the crowds during The World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
Monica and Chad released their EP ‘In This Game’ under the name Complicated Animals in 2015. Written and recorded in a cabin in the woods in Michigan, ‘In This Game’ received rave reviews from blogs and journalists, and was called “a 6 song masterpiece” and the “beginning of a new sound” by PopMatters. The first single ‘Phoenix’ was featured in the 2019 Netflix Original Movie ‘The Last Summer’.
In 2018, Complicated Animals released their single ‘Show Me’. The track was a departure from the acoustic sounds on “in This Game”, and was influenced by the synth-based music of the 1980s, and Chad and Monica’s mutual love for lush dreamy pop songs. ‘Show Me’ was featured on MTV Brazil, and Obscure Sound.
In 2020, inspired by the pandemic, and other life changing events of the year, Monica and Chad released an intimate, acoustic version of ‘Times Like These’ by Foo Fighters. Hoping to spread some positivity, and lift people’s spirits, the duo had this to say about their single. “This year sure has been crazy. Life has changed. We think the lyrics of “Times Like These” are super relevant to everything that's going on right now. We collaborated with a talented Brazilian artist named Karla Caprali. She has created the song artwork, and a powerful animated music video to go along with the message. “We hold firm to the belief that we will emerge from Times Like These more empathetic, more creative, simpler, stronger.”
Complicated Animals’ latest single ‘Watcher’ (out on August 9th, 2024) is inspired by the duo’s love for crime dramas and Nordic noir TV. The song talks about the ancient struggle between good and evil. Who will win the fight?
“I'd been thinking about there being two sides to everything, two opposing forces. Good and evil,” says singer Monica da Silva. “They are two sides of the same coin, but I want to imagine that good will prevail. That it's the more powerful force.”
‘Watcher’ started with a simple melody that da Silva would play every time she would sit down at the piano. Producer and musician Chad Alger added drums and programming that swirl around the thematic, swelling melody, and seem almost woven into the plot, and entwined in the lyrics.
“We wanted the song to take on its own life”, says Alger. “Almost as if it were breathing on its own".