TV Obsessive
Conjuring a Strange Angel
Rachel: It might be the middle of summer, but I’m already dreaming of autumn skies and bonfires. Lance Whalen’s latest single, “Strange Angel,” is where Southern Gothic rock and David Lynch-like flourishes collide with fiery results. The Americana song tells the story of a strange girl the narrator can’t escape, capturing the muddy line between haunting love and all the dangers it can hold.
Hair of natural red and fairytale long
The Devil’s Waltz is her favorite song
She sits in my lap and plays Orbison
She walked out of the night and into my lungs
Paired with sparse but lush instrumentation, this song feels like something straight out of The Roadhouse in Twin Peaks. I’ve been a patreon of Lance’s for a while now and every single he’s dropped this year has offered a new and different facet of his songwriting. I can’t want to see what’s next, but this song deserves major attention if you love the likes of Nick Cave or Orville Peck. At the very least, give it a dedicated spot on your Twin Peaks-inspired playlists. You can also check out his Spotify for past releases and covers (his cover of Nick Cave’s “The Ship Song” is particularly gorgeous.)
Marina Laduda Ponders Romance in Her New Song “Almond Eyes”
Jan: Marina Laduda, American/Slovakian, is a former contestant in Superstar or X-Factor competitions but has found more luck in ventures of her own. This year she dropped a new song called “Almond Eyes” along with a music video that features Marina having bisexual relationships. Or maybe she features there as their pimp. Or she is controlling both of the lovers. The message is not clear in the music video. Nor it should be .
One message that is very clear though is that everyone should be allowed whatever they want to do in terms of their sexuality.
Each verse feels like talking to a different lover, not the same one. Each one has some different flaws, yet the singer doesn’t give up on them. There are obvious missed chances and the constant what-if-this-could-have-been-the-one.
Sometimes I wonder what if I
Were to believe that you and I
Could really be the ones to write
Another chapter of my life
Unless I go and risk it all
I guess we’ll never really know
“Almond Eyes,” the song and the video, have this lustful quality. Some relationships are defined by the fact that one gives more into it then the other person (“I compartmentalized our time
Kept your life separate from mine”). And then you feel inadequate, like you are chasing someone. And then it just boils down to lust.
There is some Christian imagery featured in the video—wine, snake, wafers and such. Marina claims herself that she stands for the sin between the other two lovers. She is the source of their jealousy, and their temptation.
Marina Laduda experiments with a lot of music genres as is evident from her live concerts and her work with her band Wet Knees. Hard to be put into only one box. (Check out more on her Spotify)
Those are our recommendations this week! What are yours? Let us know in the comments!
