Los Angeles duo Silverdeer surrender to the pull of desire on their smoldering single “Open Mouth,” a sultry alt-rock rush that turns that sweaty impulse into a playful, powerful, irresistible eruption.

 follow our Today’s Song(s) playlist

Stream: “Open Mouth” – Silverdeer

It exists as a celebration of sexuality, a snapshot of desire and almost-caught moments.

* * *

Desire rarely whispers. More often, it pulses – hot, restless, and impossible to ignore.

On “Open Mouth,” Los Angeles duo Silverdeer surrender fully to that electricity, crafting a feverish alt-rock reverie that simmers with heat, haze, and barely contained tension. Guitars roar in shoegaze overdrive while synths flicker like neon through smoke, and vocalist Halsey Bousquet glides through the chaos with a voice that is equal parts tender and intoxicating. The result is spine-tingling and sultry all at once – a song that smolders with seduction while still hitting with the force of a wall of sound.

That duality has long defined Silverdeer’s sonic identity. The project of guitarist/producer Nika Fazeli and singer/lyricist Halsey Bousquet, the Los Angeles duo draw inspiration from both classic and contemporary alternative worlds – artists like my bloody valentine, Slowdive, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Deftones alongside modern torchbearers like Fontaines D.C., Beach House, and Wolf Alice. Their music exists somewhere between those poles: lush and atmospheric yet visceral, nostalgic yet unmistakably modern. As they explain, “We’ve always said that we are not a shoegaze band but have shoegaze elements.”

Open my mouth
And show me what you take me for
Grab a hold
Look up at me, when you want more

Heard you came here for me
(I did the same baby)
Head to your place and never leave
(Sounds kinda tempting)
I wore this skirt just for you
Like only I could do

With “Open Mouth,” however, the pair lean into something new: Playfulness, sensuality, and the thrill of letting go.

For the first time, that energy feels uninhibited – less concerned with distance or mystique, and more interested in presence. Where their earlier work often hovered in texture, “Open Mouth” pulls everything into sharper focus, trading restraint for immediacy and letting desire take up space without apology.

“We’ve been wanting to make a really sexy song for a while, but it never felt natural and we always grew to hate the demos,” they tell Atwood Magazine with a laugh. “But with ‘Open Mouth,’ the key to it was making it super playful and fun and not taking itself super seriously.” The spark came when Fazeli sent Bousquet a collection of early musical ideas, including a looping sample and bassline that quickly became the backbone of the track. From there, the song took on a life of its own.

“We started writing this song as Halsey started exploring her sexuality after not being super comfortable with it for a while,” the duo explain. That journey of discovery and confidence courses through the track’s lyrics, which revel in intimacy and near-missed secrecy: “We’re not alone / People could hear us next door / You cover my mouth / A secret that no one could know.” What could have been purely provocative instead feels triumphant – a celebration of desire, agency, and the thrill of shared vulnerability. It’s not about being seen for the sake of it, but about choosing to be seen – and finding power in that choice.

That sense of liberation was only possible after a major creative turning point for the band. Previously releasing music under the name saturn 17, Fazeli and Bousquet stepped away from that project as they grappled with writer’s block and an evolving artistic vision. The rebrand to Silverdeer marked a fresh start – one that allowed them to explore louder, darker, and more emotionally expansive territory. “‘Open Mouth’ was the third track we recorded for the EP,” they share. “Only through the rebrand were we able to make a song that felt like entirely new territory for us, something that wouldn’t have felt right under our older name.”

The song now stands as a pivotal moment on their forthcoming EP House of Devotion, set to release in May. Conceptually, each track represents a different room within a symbolic home built from love, memory, and emotional connection. If every song opens a different door, “Open Mouth” leads listeners straight into the bedroom. “It’s playful, it’s physical, it’s intimate,” the duo explain. “Our House of Devotion is a place that reflects on connection – how we relate to people who have entered and exited our lives.”

Musically, the track explodes with that intimacy and immediacy. Guitars surge forward in waves while Bousquet’s voice lingers close to the ear, whispering and soaring in equal measure. The chorus distills that tension into a moment that feels both intimate and electrifying. Over surging guitars and a restless pulse, Bousquet delivers the song’s central refrain – “You open my mouth / And you show me what you want / So I’ll give it to you” – with a voice that hovers between vulnerability and invitation. Her line lands somewhere between confession and invitation, its softness wrapped in a storm of distortion and rhythm. The words themselves are disarmingly direct, but the feeling they carry is far more layered: Surrender, curiosity, trust, and the electric charge of being wanted. It’s the sound of two people stepping fully into the moment, the music swelling around them like heat in a closed room, every note amplifying the rush of closeness and the thrill of giving yourself over to desire.

You open my mouth
And you show me what you want
So I’ll give it to you

What makes that moment land isn’t just the volume or the distortion – it’s proximity. Even at its loudest, “Open Mouth” feels close, like something unfolding just inches away. The guitars don’t just crash; they envelop. The vocals don’t just soar; they linger, brushing up against every note with a kind of deliberate intimacy. It creates a push-and-pull between exposure and immersion – between being seen and being surrounded – that mirrors the song’s emotional core.

And that tension is exactly what makes the song so compelling. “We hope listeners feel hot and horny,” the band joke, before offering a more thoughtful reflection on the experience of making it. “If at least one person feels like that or a little more comfortable in their skin, then we’ve done our job. Through ‘Open Mouth,’ we realized that being an alternative band does not mean you have to write sad songs all the time. Fun songs are just as serious as sad songs. We don’t have to keep up a moody persona in order to be seen as ‘real’ artists.”

In other words, desire can be just as powerful a creative force as heartbreak.

We’re not alone
People could hear us next door
You cover my mouth
A secret that no one could know

I’d throw a scene if you leave
(You’d do the same baby)
So we move to the backseat
(The leather smells like you)
You like my boots and how they
Dig into you

With “Open Mouth,” Silverdeer embrace that truth without hesitation.

The track radiates with sensual energy and fearless experimentation, capturing the dizzy rush of attraction and the freedom that comes from owning it fully. If House of Devotion invites listeners to wander through the rooms of love, memory, and connection, this particular door swings open onto something irresistible: A space filled with heat, curiosity, and the intoxicating thrill of surrender.

Silverdeer recently spoke with Atwood Magazine about the spark behind “Open Mouth,” the freedom they found in the moment, and how their new EP opens a new chapter for their sound and storytelling. Read our conversation below, and see what waits behind the door.

— —

:: stream/purchase Open Mouth here ::

:: connect with Silverdeer here ::

— —

Stream: “Open Mouth” – Silverdeer

A CONVERSATION WITH SILVERDEER

Silverdeer: Well first of all hi! We are a duo from Los Angeles, our names are Nika Fazeli, and Halsey Bousquet. Nika is the lead guitarist and producer, and Halsey is the lead singer and lyricist. Our sound is a modern take on ’90s shoegaze and alternative rock. With Silverdeer, we wanted to not just form a band, but an art project that combines visual story telling with music.

Silverdeer: We’re really inspired by current alternative bands that show their influences but also are making things that feel fresh and new. Like Fontaines D.C, Beach House, Wolf Alice, and Deftones. We also love bands like my bloody valentine, Slowdive, The Smashing Pumpkins. But we’re really excited because we feel like we’ve created our own lane in alternative and shoegaze rather than just copying the greats. We’ve always said that we are not a shoegaze band, but have shoegaze elements.

Silverdeer: Thank you so much! It’s a rocker. We’ve been wanting to make a really sexy song for a while, but it never felt natural and we always grew to hate the demos haha. But with “Open Mouth,” the key to it was making it super playful and fun and not taking itself super seriously. The idea for it started as Nika making a few different song ideas to send to Halsey and the one that would become “Open Mouth” was our favorite. It started as a sample that Nika then looped and added a bass line for. Halsey came up with the first verse pretty quickly and then we had the demo on hand when we went to our producer, Casey Lagos’s studio and really made it huge.

Silverdeer: We started writing this song as Halsey started exploring her sexuality after not being super comfortable with it for a while. And this song felt very triumphant for her and just felt reality great to listen to. We’ve always wanted to write a song about sex and sexuality, but it was hard because we were at different stages in our sexual journeys and still are. What’s great about “Open Mouth” is that it is very inclusive and anyone can listen to it no matter their experiences or sexual orientation and feel great.

Silverdeer: For our EP, House of Devotion, the concept is that every song is its own room in the House of Devotion. “Open Mouth” is the bedroom. It’s playful, it’s physical, it’s intimate. Our House of Devotion is a place that reflects on connection, love, and memory. The visuals for our EP are very integral to our overall storytelling. We felt that it was necessary that the EP concept mirrors that, so we built a sonic space where people can reflect on connection, current and past.

Silverdeer: We used to go by the name saturn 17, which was an indie pop project. We’re very grateful for the opportunities that that music gave us, but we don’t think we would have been able to do anything as ambitious as House of Devotion under that name. We think sonically and lyrically, the EP is a great reflection of us as people. There are moments that are loud and celebratory, playful, and others that are more reflective and softer. We worked to flush out our sound, and as an introduction to the project Silverdeer, House of Devotion shows all different sides to our songwriting and craftsmanship.

Silverdeer: We hope listeners feel hot and horny and if at least one person feels like that or a little more comfortable in their skin, then we’ve done our job. Through “Open Mouth,” we realized that being an alternative band does not mean you have to write sad songs all the time. Fun songs are just as serious as sad songs. We don’t have to keep up a moody persona in order to be seen as “real” artists. Also, the music video for “Open Mouth” came out on Valentine’s Day! Check it out! Thank you so much for asking these awesome questions.

— —

:: stream/purchase Open Mouth here ::

:: connect with Silverdeer here ::

— —

Stream: “Open Mouth” – Silverdeer

— — — —

Connect to Silvedeer on
Facebook, 𝕏, TikTok, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

 © Emma Holabird

:: Today’s Song(s) ::

 follow our daily playlist on Spotify

:: Stream Silverdeer ::