While Cinema Novo’s Seven Headed Lion anthology has been slow to unravel, each installment unveiled so far has been powerful and gripping, examining the cyclical patterns of history via the lens of myth and monsters. Following in the footsteps of “Horse Eater,” a grim look at addiction and denial, and “Isonade,” a harrowing dive into the darkness of domestic abuse, “Patasola” is a disturbing portrait of the psychological cost of jealousy and alienation as it pertains to men.
Derived from vampire legend, the Patasola or “one foot” is rooted in South American folklore. According to myth, the Patasola would appear in the form of a beautiful and seductive woman and lure vulnerable men into the jungle where she would devour the flesh or suck the blood from her victims. It was these decidedly feminine qualities that first attracted the group, providing the inspiration to shape both the song and the video’s bleak saga.
“The album is an anthology of humankind’s socially silent monsters,” explains vocalist and lyricist Haseena Peera. “We’ve been using myth to explore these monsters, like addiction and domestic violence, and ‘Patasola’ is a representation of male envy and isolation in feminine form. It’s allowed us to push the story spiraling forward.”
Directed, produced, and edited by the band themselves, the video depicts a man in the the throes of grief and despair who suddenly finds himself consumed by his attraction to a woman he sees on the arm of another man. In his loneliness and desperation, he feels compelled to pursue the woman, unable to resist his fateful attraction. Soundtracked by Cinema Novo’s explosive and dextrous prog-punk, the clip twists and spirals forward, building in anxiety and suspense before reaching its bleak and violent conclusion.
“As with our last video, we’re trying to tell stories about things that aren’t often talked about,” says guitarist Christopher Richardson. “The issue of male isolation is a very real phenomenon, with scores of men lacking emotional and psychological support, and conflicted about what it means to be a man in today’s society. We wanted to unload the emotional weight of the last video onto a new character with this perspective, and as ‘Patasola’ progresses, it’s clear he’s not out of the woods yet.”
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