Jordan Reyes is an eclectic guy whose many projects hop-scotch between black-metal, dark ambient, folk-rock, art-rock and so much more. Later this fall, he'll venture into doom-metal with his new solo album, Everything is Always, and today (August 10th) we're stoked to be premiering a single called "The Tide" that should give listeners an idea of what Reyes' take on doom will sound like.
In short, this isn't your average Electric Wizard worship band. The murky, droning guitars hang in the background like smoke in a windowless room, but Reyes and collaborator Ambre Sala's hymnal-like chants are what the ear gravitates toward, their simple, meditative vocalizations recalling fellow doom innovators like King Woman and Midwife. There're also some glockenspiel-esque pings chiming off for added ambiance, as well as a mournful pedal-steel lead, and the whole thing has a powerful sense of movement and groove despite the lack of percussion.
It's pretty fucking fantastic, and you can listen above while watching its equally haunting, transfixing music video. Reyes spoke on the visual, co-directed by Kali Kahn, below.
"I had made fifty dolls out of t-shirt scraps, donated fabric, glue, twine, seashells, and paint to be a visual companion to the album, and the original idea for this music video was to contrast scenes of doll-making with scenes of myself creating, then donning a cloak of sewn kitchen rags painted with black spirals over red spray paint. This changed, and that's largely due to Kali's incisive, perceptive outlook on character, story, and movement.
"We brainstormed themes, settings, and motions that alluded to hidden selves and dreams, ideas I tried to imbue in the dolls — effigies for unspoken identities, due to lack of language, fear, and/or an ignorance as to that/those identities. Once there, we needed some actors, so we reached out to my wife Ambre Sala, my artistic mentor Travis, performance artist and dancer Erin Peisert, and my friend and colleague Roxanne Hoffman.
"Kali and I came up with a framework, setting, and prompts for action — though she is responsible for that image of hair played like strings on a cello — but a lot was generated directly by the actors.For me, the video is touching, haunting, and easy to relate to. The girl quietly, raptly practicing in the alley. The man parsing out romance and fallout. The sacrificial, corporeal cello. The doll-maker. The doll-lover."
Everything is Always is due out October 28th via Reyes' own American Dreams label, and you can pre-order it here.
