Kansas City Shoegaze/Dangerpop Band RxGhost has released a video for “Candles” from their new album Scaffolding. The track imagines the bigger scope of our lives and what we might hope for in the midst of struggles.
Frontman Josh Thomas says of the song:
‘Candles’ is about how it’s important to still try to do interesting things and strive for change, even in a world where the super rich have rigged the system. If you keep up with public policy and government handouts, it’s hard to feel like the system isn’t rigged for the investment class. Conservatives act like poor people are welfare queens, while ignoring that the ultra wealthy get more handouts than anyone. The middle class is getting fucked by the ultra rich, and it’s been obvious for a long time. They have a system set up to get the left and right wing fighting each other, while quietly siphoning all the resources out of the system and hoarding it.
We could die at any time, like tea candles floating on an ocean, getting extinguished by random waves. This song is about how, even in this current reality, it’s important to try to do interesting things, even when the system is rigged against us. We won’t be here long, let’s do something interesting.
Video director Matthew Dunehoo (@marychickensoup) explains about the video:
“With ‘Candles’ I was eager to embrace and flesh out the metaphor of the candle for the spirit, and the volatile experience of trying to keep it together while burning in spite of the elements. The pace of the song itself seems to always hover right before breaking apart, at the repeated mantra of the “main character” expressing the feeling of being frayed, stretched thin, flickering between stability and losing it when considering a ton of pointless routine shit.
I was thrilled to work with up and coming hyperpop artist DELARAY! who starred in the video. She knows all about crippling anxiety and struggling with substance use disorder, and self destructive impulses. It was easy to reach that moment, where battling anxiety she tries to go out and do the abysmal job search, and ultimately has to abort the mission as the surging anxiety inside makes her feel as if she’s drowning.
A hopeful glimpse at the end, a place that calms the nerves just looking at the planes departing from LAX, maybe portending her journey through the rat race, and her habituated hangups and mental struggles.“
Upcoming Show:
August 2nd – Kansas City, MO at Record Bar (w/ Shiner and Lafayette)
