UK-based singer-songwriter Salt Ashes has released the dark visual for her latest – and rather excellent – new single “Love, Love” which is out now via Radikal Records.
The track is a delectably dark foray into electro-pop and is, according to the artist herself: “A song for all the committment-phobic people out there.” She adds:
“I wrote it when I started dating an old friend… I couldn’t get my head clear on what I wanted, which is unusual for me, or the worry of it ruining our friendship if it didn’t work out. Normally I’d do a runner at the first sight of a relationship getting even slightly serious but this had me questioning whether to try staying for once and giving it a go.“
Indeed, the lyrics detail the persistent questioning and doubting one does when finding themselves in a relationship on the precipice of getting deep (“Now my heart is no machine / For me to wipe out all the fear/Of fucking up what we are doing.”)
The song possesses an automatic magnetism from the first lyric “Should I get up and leave?” and Salt Ashes’ haunting vocals which accompany the disturbing and puzzling vibe of the music video. It portrays the singer being held captive by a man who has bound her to a chair and has a quest of his own: to get her literal heart. There are many visual elements that indicate fear and others that are downright bizarre such as the man’s head becoming that of a dog). Ultimately, the video can be considered an allegory for the for the fear of true commitment and the accompanying questions: am I trapping myself? Will it get too weird? What if I give my heart to the wrong person?
Salt Ashes has given a great visual that perfectly encapsulates that anxiety about how love can all too easily be a double-edged sword. Is it any wonder why we are prone to be cautious?
Salt Ashes seems to be building towards the release of her second album. For more news, stay tuned to her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
