Never told the truth, I’ve always lied;
I amount to nothing ‘cause I never tried
Skirting the edges of the Great Beyond has a way of giving one quite the mental makeover. One moment, you’re fussing over the banalities of existence; the next, you’re grappling with the rather inconvenient reality of your own expiration date. Suddenly, pricey baubles lose their shine, replaced by the intoxicating lure of genuine human touch. The shadows of mortality? A mere trifle, when faced with the glittering fragility of life. It’s as if Death whispered in your ear, ‘Live, but make it count.’
Ohio darkwave duo, Summore, having survived their own near-death experience, pen songs that force them – and, by extension, the collective – to take a good, hard look in the mirror. Their latest single, “New Pain,” the title track from their new album, is a deep dive into recklessness and the oddly human ability to shrug off a conscience.
The song is an unflinching gaze at the all-too-common grave foolishness of drunk driving. Singing from the view of the sinner, Summore makes listeners squirm, confronting the murkier corners of our souls. “New Pain,” with its sharp-tongued clarity, lays bare those little monsters we all harbour within. ‘”I’ll leave you for dead and won’t think twice” quips with a chilly disdain, revealing, all too candidly, the depths of the heart’s frosted caverns. Julie’s haunting voice delivers these sentiments with the eerie sighs of ghosts, circling the remains of some forgotten blaze, while Justin’s synths play the part of stoking the last embers, casting eerie dances in the dark.
“It’s easy to point the finger at the person who committed the crime, but it’s far more important for me to place myself into their shoes and deconstruct their behavior as if it were my own,” Julie muses.
“New Pain” untangles the web of self-destructive traits and tendencies that reside within us all. The stark confession speaks volumes about the offender’s cold indifference and serves as a chilling memory of the pain they have inflicted. With its raw honesty and gripping narrative, the song serves as a potent reminder that music has the power to explore the darkest corners of our lives and ultimately pave the way for redemption.
The eerie lyric video, directed by VJ Vendetta, shows Julie in a limbo of sorts, reminiscent of the TV scene in The Man Who Fell To Earth. Is she a ghost coming through EVP with a foreboding message? Is the screen to blame for our diminishing empathy?
Watch the video for “New Pain” below:
SUMMORE crafts an experience laden with an eerie, somber charm, evoking the allure of a distant siren’s call intricately woven with hypnotic patterns. Amid the vast, arpeggiated synth surges, a riveting duality emerges: Julie’s harmonious vocals gracefully rise above the looming electronic abyss, as introspective verses invite the ear deeper into poetic depths. SUMMORE represent a moonlit dialogue between melancholy and melody. Daringly delving into the dim, they decode the enigmas of our existence, one synth pulse at a time.
New Pain is out now. Listen below and order here.
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