Fresh Track + Video: Fear of Men “Doldrums”

The music video is one of the most underappreciated forms of artistry there is.  Forgotten about since MTV went into the shitter 15 years ago when Carson Daly lost Jennifer Love Hewitt and sent his career from TRL to a half hour taped late night show that no one in America watches unless they are too stoned to sleep or too drunk to remember.  The music video still exists today, only releases are viral via the Internet, rather than the television.  The change in venue has obviously reduced the budget, but certainly not reduced the artist’s chance to express music through imagery in creative ways.

Fear of Men are quartet from London and Brighton who have only been making music together since early 2011.  Their best song to date, “Doldrums”, is a relaxed lo-fi pop song with jangly guitars and somber vocals.  For all you non-English majors, doldrums is defined as “low spirits; a feeling of boredom or depression; a period of inactivity or state of stagnation” and it’s music video fits this mood.  Shot in black and white, it features lead singer Jessica Weiss wandering in a forest dressed in all black surrounded by visions of yesterday in the form of historical civilization statues.  Figures covered in white appear towards the end, and Jessica toys with trying see what’s inside, before ultimately abandoning and moving on.

Meet me in the doldrums for a while

I’ll let it take me over

I’ll meet you in the doldrums

I’ve got to let go of everything I own

Fear of Men self-released “Doldrums” on a tape entitled Alice Munro Demos. Keep your eyes open for the band’s debut album, which is scheduled for release on April 9^th of this year.  If you like what you hear, be sure to visit the group’s Bandcamp page for more of their ever-growing catalog.

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Written by Greg Dahman