Canadian indie pop/shoegaze duo Softcult (the project of twin siblings Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn) have released the video for their new single “Dress“.
The track features on their forthcoming EP ‘see you in the dark’, due to be released on March 24th via Easy Life Records. Get it here.
Speaking about it, Mercedes explains :
This song is about consent; it’s about saying ‘no’ and having it happen to you anyway. It’s about being followed while walking alone at night or being cornered in a bar when we’re just trying to have a night out with our friends. It’s about the lingering fear and trauma that haunts us long after these experiences have happened. It’s about how these experiences make us feel powerless and change the way we see ourselves.
The pair channel grunge-tinged shades of shoegaze, dream pop, and punk, held together by a love for ‘90s alternative aesthetics and a stridently DIY ethos. Phoenix heads up production and engineering and Mercedes offers hard-hitting lyricism reflecting on youth, femininity, and growing up as the world falls apart.
Watch the Mercedes Arn-Horn-directed video below.
The EP’s takes inspiration from Nietzsche’s famous quote: “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”
“It is an analogy for the things we’re afraid to face. It represents confronting our innermost fears, usually in those vulnerable moments lying awake at night when our minds are racing. It’s sort of an acknowledgement of our darkness, and the darkness of others, like “hey, I see you”, Mercedes says. “While it’s important to acknowledge our darkness, we also can’t submit to it. We have to strive to be better people, and leave behind a legacy of positive change. I think it’s important to do everything we can to try and make a positive impact on the world, even when that feels impossible. Because if we don’t at least try, who will?”
See You In The Dark Tracklist:
- Drain
- Dress
- One Of A Million
- Someone2Me
- Love Song
- Spoiled
