Hazy Shea - “Left Astray”

AllMusic Release

Jul 20

Shot in a similar style to her earlier release, “Forever 21,” Hazy Shea’s latest music video captures the feeling of being left behind. Slow pans of the singer, dressed in ripped jeans and muted colors, reflect the lyrical angst of “Left Astray.” We watch Shea perched on a playground swing, her hands gripping the metal chains, or walking on the gravel between abandoned train tracks. The visual motif of the swing set feels like an homage to childhood, to the growing pains that come with change: “Can I be a flower / When I’m still a seed?” As the lyrics fade around the three-minute mark, Shea’s body language takes on a meaning of its own, rendering words unnecessary. She clutches her knees to her chest, rests her forehead on her hands, and gazes out at her surroundings from the bed of a moving pickup truck. Her facial expression is desolate, lost. She seems trapped inside her own head: “I’m filled with empty thoughts / Empty space / Lost emotions / Left astray.” The guitar in the background plucks its steady rhythm before fading out entirely. The final shot depicts her walking away as the swing dangles empty. This symbolism fits the song’s message perfectly—of leaving things behind, for better or worse.

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On a musical level, Shea crafts her own style through heartfelt lyricism and a distinct voice. The vocals take center stage in this track, backed only by acoustic guitar that varies little in its tune and tempo. The song’s relative simplicity allows the listener to focus on the lyrics, which seems to be the song’s intention. Rather than drawing us in with an alluring beat as she does in “Forever 21,” here Shea relies on her words. She plays with metaphor and simile repeatedly throughout the song, comparing her thoughts to rainy days and her growth to that of a flower. This nature imagery interacts in an interesting way with the industrial feel of the music video’s many settings. The train tracks and swing sets are sites of collision between nature and humankind; they are abandoned places now being reclaimed by nature. In one scene, she sits on what appears to be a rusted metal frame in the midst of old bricks and scrap metal. This visual fit with the song, as Hazy Shea places herself in settings that epitomize abandonment and the very idea of being “left astray.”

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