B-Side Guys

Michael Coe’s artistic partnership with filmmaker Zach Lorkiewicz generates music designed for visual accompaniment, yet “No Way Out” stands independently as bedroom pop composition that prioritizes emotional intimacy over cinematic scope. The collaboration with singer Leannie demonstrates how effective duet arrangements emerge from complementary rather than competing vocal approaches.

Coe’s production background with dream pop band Soft Siren informs his approach to layered harmonies without overwhelming the track’s central acoustic foundation. Rather than burying delicate songwriting beneath effects processing, he uses ornate counter-melodies to enhance rather than obscure the core emotional content. This represents sophisticated understanding of how bedroom pop’s lo-fi aesthetics can serve rather than substitute for strong melodic material.

The comparison to Beabadoobee and Frankie Cosmos positions Count The Clock within contemporary indie pop’s nostalgic wing, but Coe’s approach to 1960s influences feels research-driven rather than surface-level. His harmonic choices suggest genuine study of classic pop arrangements rather than simply applying vintage reverb settings to modern chord progressions.

Leannie’s vocal performance carries the kind of wistful quality that makes bedroom pop effective when done well. Rather than affecting emotional distance as stylistic choice, her delivery suggests genuine vulnerability that happens to work within the genre’s aesthetic parameters. This authenticity prevents the track from feeling like calculated nostalgia exercise.

The track’s tender romanticism avoids both cynicism and excessive sweetness through careful dynamic control. Coe understands that effective love songs require emotional range rather than consistent mood, allowing moments of uncertainty to coexist with declarations of affection without forcing resolution between them.

“No Way Out” succeeds by treating bedroom pop as vehicle for genuine songcraft rather than aesthetic end goal. Count The Clock demonstrates that effective genre exercises require understanding what makes the style emotionally resonant rather than simply replicating its surface characteristics.