Today (March 28th) marks the release of Deafheaven’s much-anticipated new Lonely People with Power album, and the blackgaze provocateurs are celebrating its arrival with some serious cinematic flare. Specifically, the group have just unveiled an outright gorgeous-looking music video for album epic “Winona.”
The seven-and-a-half-minute short film was directed by Nico through Pulse Films, and it initially finds Deafheaven vocalist George Clarke wandering across a green and pastoral fieldscape, ultimately meeting up with a lady and her huge-ass Doberman.
Nothing is quite spelled out for viewers, but we also see Clarke and the woman calmly sipping spirits in a bar and intensely eyeballing each other over bowls of soup at home. The vid also has delivers Tarantino-level foot fetishism, OCD-triggering handwashing rituals, religious symbolism, a spot where Clarke is planking into an ocean, and more.
As for the soundtrack, Deafheaven collectively score this with a slow-building-but-serene intro, emotionally overwhelming blast work, melancholy guitar trilling, soulful screams and a back-end dream-pop swerve.
Take a deep breath and then take it all in via the player up above, while the album is streaming in full down below.
As previously reported, Deafheaven’s Lonely People with Power was recorded at Hollywood, California’s EastWest Studios with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (St. Vincent, M83) before being mixed by Zach Weeks (The Armed, Fuming Mouth).
The album was previewed earlier in the year via the “Magnolia” and “Heathen” singles. The record, which is out now via Roadrunner Records, also features guest appearances from Boy Harsher’s Jae Matthews (“Incidental II”) and Interpol vocalist-guitarist Paul Banks (“Incidental III”).
An exclusive variant of the album on “Honeyed Heat”-colored vinyl, limited to 500 copies, is available now in Revolver‘s shop.
Deafheaven North American tour to support the album begins in April. The 27-show trip finds the band joined throughout by death-metal vets Gatecreeper and heavy shoegazers Trauma Ray.
You’ll find the full tour info here.