Not long ago the inimitable Willow Beats dropped their newest single ‘Merewif’ from their forthcoming 74th EP Water. No, not their 74th, but their third and these days that’s quite a few EPs deep without an LP. I sense however that Willow Beats might be onto something- if you’re EPs are moving and your fanbase is prepared to consume your music in snack sized form then why change? I still can’t help but think that given the developed presence of Willow Beats now, we’ll be seeing a full length next. I was lucky enough to catch them at a nearly sold out GoodGod over the weekend and it was slammed from wall to wall with fans who mouthed out the lyrics across the set.
Merewif now has its very own video that sees vocalist Kalyani plunge through oceanic depths, harassed by nymphs and pulled through the cold. The physical forms combined with lighting that emphasizes depth is, maybe inadvertently, referencing Renaissance structures – not unlike that Ukrainian parliamentary fight photo from this week. The more I think about it however, the lighting is closer to a Caravaggio if not the content. Maybe there are Baroque fingerprints on this one. Whatever the case, I’m still left with a number of unanswered questions.
- How did they film this? Most scientists can will tell you it’s actually really hard to breathe underwater because there is no oxygen (a special invisible gas). This could be a rare cinema secret we might never find answers for.
- Around 2:40 onwards Kalyani appears to be walking on water. I’m not even going to start on this one.
- What is a Merewif? We just don’t know.
Washing aside these problematic thoughts, we’ll focus entirely on the Water EP which is due out September 12 and looks to be their most realised work to date.
