Frances TingleWe Find Ourselves Tethered Back To Marxen’s Thoughtful And Chilling Solo EP After The Recent Release Of This Atmospheric Music Video.
Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.
Nicole Marxen — “Bones/Dust”
RIYL: Kate Bush releasing her demons at a goth club.
What else you need to know: Tether is the debut solo EP from Nicole Marxen, who you’ll know from the Dallas avant-pop band Midnight Opera.
Nearing a year ago, we featured the first single to be released from Tether — the title track — which acted as the cathartic first step in Marxen’s grieving process after the loss of her mother. Since then, all four Tether tracks have been released, but the music video which dropped Nov. 22 brought our attention back to the ethereal and icy EP.
“Bones/Dust,” the third track, tells a story of missing someone so much that you long for their ghost to haunt you. “I wanna feel that chill creeping down my spine/Show me a sign, scare me out of my mind/I wanna feel it all,” Marxen sings.
The lyrics are steeped in a loving type of madness, like Edgar Allen Poe in a modern language. While macabre, it’s a relatable notion for anyone who’s dealt with grief — the want to experience someone’s presence just one more time, no matter the circumstances. Marxen’s poetry is sung hauntingly against a pulsating beat and synth — giving a new contemporary flavor to avant-garde pop. It’s like if you met a siren at a nightclub.
The accompanying music video is just as chilling and hypnotizing as the song. Directed by local filmmaker Richard Krause (whose work we’re no stranger to), the visuals are dark and hazy with figures melting in and out of the ghost town setting — perfectly depicting what it’s like to remember a nightmare, and what it feels like to miss someone to the point of numbness.
Cover photo by Judd Myers.