by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
A few weeks back we included Shilpa Ray's new single "Shoot This Dying Horse" in "Fuzzy Meadows," our recap of the best new music. The song comes from the Nihilism EP, an upcoming two-song set that follows, Door Girl, one of last year's best albums and a record that we consider to be a masterpiece of our time. The EP, released yesterday via Northern Spy Records, continues Ray's reign as one of our generation's best songwriters, at least on "Shoot This Dying Horse," (the b-side "Is It My Body" is actually an Alice Cooper cover), a song written during a period of depression, with an elegance as only Ray's vocals can offer. Singing "time is fleeting, in long exhausting motions, how could I get this so wrong?" it's a grim reflection on heartbreak with a sense of beauty to match.
The video, directed by Mark Perro is a grainy and simplistic look at well... horses, and while they don't seem to be dying (thankfully), there's an overcast atmosphere to the clip that captures the bleakness of the song. Perro has some fun with negative colors to match the "sunrise / sunset" lyrics of the chorus, a welcome transition from the ominous aura projected onto the horses thanks to the song's rain soaked duldrums. The video opens itself up to a drive among wide open landscapes, and it really is amazing to experience the way Shilpa Ray's affective songwriting really manipulates visual perceptions.
TOUR DATES:
5/17 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East (Upstairs)
5/18 - Portland, ME @ The Apohadion
5/19 - Montreal, QC @ Casa
5/20 - Toronto, ON @ The Baby G
5/21 - Detroit, MI @ El Club
5/22 - Jackson, MI @ Michigan Theatre
5/23 - Chicago, IL @ The Hideout
5/24 - Milwaukee, WI @ Company Brewing
5/25 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave.
5/26 - Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
5/28 - Norman, OK @ Opolis
5/29 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
5/30 - Austin, TX @ Sidewinder
5/31 - Houston, TX @ Spruce Goose
6/01 - New Orleans, LA @ Poor Boys Bar
6/02 - Hot Springs, AR @ Hill Wheatley Plaza
6/03 - Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone
6/04 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement
6/05 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre Rooftop
6/06 - Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
6/07 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
6/08 - Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Yacht Club
6/09 - Athens, OH @ The Union
6/10 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Howlers
6/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
6/14 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (Zone One)