Lately, have you felt some sort of pressure, like the walls in your home were slowly bearing down on you? Maybe it’s the sun setting so early or the emotional hangover from the holidays that’s got you trapped in your current Kafkaesque hellscape. Whatever thick mire you’re finding yourself buried within, you can find a reflection of your ennui in the latest video from art rockers Karaoke.
On “Mantra,” the last of five videos from the their latest LP Blood Piss Religion Pain, the band weaves through a series of dreamy movements full of jittery repetition and tension. At times the song suggests the heavy brooding energy of Portishead, at others it recalls the maximalist tendencies of CocoRosie. However you want to pin down their expansive sound, it’s loaded with evocative atmospheres that embrace anxiety and an unsettling moodiness.
Directed by vocalist Grace Bellury, the video is a one-shot affair that mixes soft neon lights and the work of a thousand busy hands. With synth player/keyboardist Zach Pyles serving as the sole object of attention, the action shifts from some sort of bizarre courtship to a harmless makeover. There’s a palpable tension as blades come close but never break skin. Elsewhere, Pyles swats away roses like flies before scissors snip the buds. Throughout the video, he remains expressionless, his eyes barely registering the comb, duster, and makeup brushes that caress and groom his face as the clip draws to an end. As a closing statement to a cold, merciless year it feels oddly apropos, a harrowing commentary on identity and the numbing effects of isolation.
Watch/listen above.
More Info
Bandcamp: karaokeatl.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @karaokeisaband