With many songs to consider for tonight’s post, two things attracted me to this one.
Firstly, scanning through the press release I chanced on the photo above. I haven’t seen a foxes head stuck on an artist’s bonce since about 1973, when Peter Gabriel used to do it as a matter of course in live shows, while sporting a summery dress very similar to the one Alexandra Bråten is wearing.
And doesn’t she look like Kate Bush, serenading Heathcliff? Or perhaps even Gabriel for that matter. He was a little effeminate in that era, if you’re allowed to say that these days.
The other big pull factor was the excellent video that goes with the song. It’s a beguiling little thing, with influences that might include the videos that Of Monsters and Men created for their debut album, the fairyland stuff of symphonic metal and both 1960s/70s and latter-day psych; think for example of the Floyd and Procul Harum. Are those floating jellyfish or really magic mushrooms?
Even the opening lines have a psychy feel to them. “Eyes on the focal point/let’s see if our minds will take this other lead.”
Figuring out quite what the song is about was sufficiently difficult that I gave up and settled for some sort of surreal dreamlike journey. One that equates to, let’s say the sentiments expressed in Nightwish’s album ‘Endless forms most beautiful’ – a journey of discovery through previously uncharted territory, where everything is ‘wondrous’ as Darwin discovered.
And then again you see there are lines like “Backat the fortress/where pain is gorgeous”. How on earth did that get in there?
I’m not aware of anyone else who is doing this delightful sort of thing just now, anywhere.
The whole works requires the serious academic examination that I unfortunately haven’t got the time for right now but it is one that you can equally enjoy without giving any thought to anything, indeed without caring less, which is also de rigueur back at that fortress.
Just be sure to take something to help you along, if you know what I mean.
Draumir is: Alexandra Bråten and Jo Frøytlog.
Beautiful Creatures is written and produced by Draumir and mixed by Phill Brown. Now there’s another thing you see. I went to school with a Phill Brown. I don’t think it’s the same one though.
Their third album will be released this year and this is the first track from it.
They have quite a history, stretching back over two decades, and you can even find them on MySpace. But I’ll let you wiki that history.
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/draumir
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/draumirofficial/
Photo: Cyril Hébert/Anki Strøm)
