by Dan Goldin (@paintingwithdan)
Cor de Lux refuse to stay stagnant, their sound always taking new shapes, progressing as they rearrange and rebuild. The North Carolina band draw from the art rock and post-punk world, adopting elements of shoegaze tonality to create music that’s bent yet decisively direct. The quartet have an innate ability to weave knots without getting tangled, unraveling in time as intricate rhythms are paired with luminescent hooks. There’s a careful balance between distortion and melody, wonky textures and glistening immediacy, captured with great effect on the band’s new single “Long Face People,” an expansive song that pierces and surges through locked-in grooves.
Led by guitarist/vocalist Dawn Moraga, it’s a song about feeling unseen, knowing you’re not alone, and finding where you fit in. There’s an impeccable energy to “Long Face People,” scrapping and popping at the seams, boosted by thick melodies as the progression wraps itself tighter. Moraga’s vocals feel like a calming presence, humanity reaching out, an assurance for anxious days. By the time the band burn their way into Tim Lusk’s haunted chorus, we’ve branched off into a sea of different directions. Far more than a tossed off single, Cor de Lux continue to show their evolution, crafting a stand-alone single that has us clamoring for what’s next.
The video, directed by Tim Lusk and Dawn Gray, feels like a real work of art. Blending the real world and the need to escape with masked strangers that feel all too common, there’s a seed of hope in the storyline, a reminder to hang on, to pair escape with community. Maybe you’ll find your own barefoot soul mate to navigate these trying times.
Speaking about the video, Dawn Moraga shared:
"The video idea came between me and Tim over coffee. We started talking about living in a world of masked people. No one truly knows what someone is feeling or going through.
Growing up and being the “weird kid” or perhaps later the “weird adult” and feeling isolated isn’t always a bad thing. For Artists, it can be a gift, and create a realm where Art and imagination feels safe. The video represents someone who is growing up and feeling “washed up” and “unseen” and the character starts to feed her imagination as she did as a child. She meets Jared (the barefoot coffee boy) who is the only unmasked person In the video besides Willow. This symmetry is representing the feeling of being seen by another.
The line “Strange when we think we disappear, Is when we arrive” is referring to the idea that when a person lets go of their fears it can bring to life what they were searching for. This can be considered a LOVE story. To me this is considered a LIFE story. There is a lot of negatives all around and we have written some pretty political rant style songs, with this song I wanted to deliver hope. For those in the immigrant and LGBTQ communities, for the weird kids, the weird adults, the lonely ones, or anyone that might be losing hope. I hoped to create a feeling of hope and a childlike joy with this one. I’m sure the video for “Cringe” on our next album will be quite different. The animator, Stefania Balzarotti from Italy really brought the concept of the doll representing Willow to life and gave the video the feeling we had hoped for."
Upcoming Shows:
02/15 - Kill Devil Hills, NC @ Swells'a Brewing (Single/Music Video Release Show)
03/02 - Norfolk, VA @ The Annex w/ Peel Dream Magazine
03/05 - Raleigh, NC @ Neptunes