Softcult unveils new single and video for ‘Perfect Blue,’ alongside announcing UK tour dates.
Canadian indie-rock duo Softcult have released their new single and video for “Perfect Blue”. The track is the 4th single from their forthcoming EP “Year of the Snake”, and the follow-up to their previous EP release “Year of the Rat.”
Twin sisters Mercedes Arn-Horn (vocals/guitar) and Phoenix Arn-Horn (vocals/drums) have quickly become the band inspiring a new Riot Grrrl movement for the digital age. PRO: feminism, social activism, creative freedom, self-empowerment, gender neutrality. ANTI: sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, patriarchy.
On the introspective “Perfect Blue” Softcult balances the biting social commentary that dominated their recent releases “BWBB” and “House of Mirrors” with a heartfelt, melodic offering. Complemented by their powerful vocal harmonies, the track shows a depth to the duo’s songwriting that gradually reveals itself as the song progresses.
“We wrote ‘Perfect Blue’ about a time in our lives when we felt like nothing was in our control,” explains Mercedes. “In our previous project, we were signed to a label that butted heads with us creatively and wasn’t allowing us to express ourselves authentically. They weren’t interested in the music we were creating at the time, so we became unhealthily obsessed with trying to please them to release anything at all.”
“It felt as though we were putting on an act to survive,” adds Phoenix. “We didn’t feel like our art was representing us. There was a lot we wanted to say, but it was being stifled. We felt like we’d lost our integrity. The song is a reminder to empower yourself by standing up for what you believe in, or risk losing yourself altogether.”
Set against a blue-lit backdrop, the music video for “Perfect Blue” is offset by a storyline and visuals inspired by the likes of directors including David Lynch, Gaspar Noe, and Dario Argento. It vividly captures the essence of emotions associated with a person shedding the skin of who or what others feel they should be, becoming true to themselves in the process.
“I wanted the viewer to feel like they are entering the mind of someone who is watching themselves transform, powerless to stop their metamorphosis, says Mercedes, who produced and directs all of Softcult’s music videos. “I clearly remember times in my life when I felt pressure to become a version of myself that others wanted me to be, but that version wasn’t authentic to who I was. I felt like I was losing my integrity and my sense of self. I’d look at myself in the mirror and be disgusted at what I saw, unattached to who I had become. There’s a vibe of health anxiety, dysphoria, dissociation, a little horror element in there that I wanted to capture with the visuals. The skin peeling scenes are meant to elicit those feelings, like a snake shedding its skin.”
Anxious to hit the road to perform tracks from “Year of the Rat” and “Year of the Snake”, today Softcult also announced the following UK Tour dates.
Thursday, February 17, 2022 – Crofters, Bristol
Friday, February 18, 2022 – The Victoria, Birmingham
Saturday, February 19, 2022 – Heartbreakers, Southampton
Sunday, February 20, 2022 – The Key Club, Leeds
Tuesday, February 22, 2022 – The Garage (Attic Bar), Glasgow
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 – The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Thursday, February 24, 2022 – Camden Assembly, London
Tickets are on sale from 10am Monday, Nov 29 here.
