South London choral fourpiece WOOM, featuring members of Babeheaven, Jerkcurb, Arlo Day, Hester and Thidius, came onto our radar last year with their Frank Ocean medley cover, which they followed up with their beautiful original “Walk”. Today they share their cover of Angel Olsen’s “Unfucktheworld”, which also comes from their debut EP Into The Rest, arriving later this month.
The video for “Unfucktheworld” is filled with scenic and distinct shots that vividly portray the heartbreak and grief on the song. The members are shown in isolated situations from fields, to subway tunnels, giving opposing visuals to the same feelings of distance and escape. The clothing, and their contrast to their surroundings give a sense of fantasy and imagination, while staying grounded.
About the song the band released this statement: “Unfucktheworld is a song by one of our all-time favourite artists Angel Olsen. For us, it’s a parable of loss, heartache, and the decision to gather yourself up and build your world anew; Angel’s writing holds such generous space for the expression of grief, while also being an invocation of internal resolve. With this video, we wanted to build around the world of her raw and powerful original, playing with the idea of a fantasy narrative and expanding the visual scope to juxtapose with the intimacy of the song itself. We loved the idea of these slightly unearthly agents from an uncertain time and place moving through the modern world, attempting to find pattern, meaning, or some kind of connection with each other from across vast distances. We wanted to create a moment of imaginative escape and exploration, which feels congruous during a time in which we are all experiencing limits on our ability to move freely and commune with one another.”
Watch “Unfucktheworld” below.
Into The Rest, produced and mixed by Tom Carmichael (Fat White Family/Alaskalaska/Jamie Isaac), is set to be released on House Anxiety on February 26. WOOM’s debut EP was finished late last year in North London’s well-known Fish Factory studios, and rumour has it was “recorded in all in one take.”
The members of WOOM are: Alice Barlow (she/her), Lara Laeverenz (they/them), Ella Rimmer (they/them) and Izzy Risk (she/her). You can find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
