Crow Baby is the dual sonic experiment of Cherilyn MacNeil (Dear Reader) and Jean-Louise Parker (Academie) – a shadowy, unsettling, beautifully considered thing – and their latest single “Little Mug” boldly stares down the barrel of self critique.
The track channels a dark, clattering, unsettling sound. Jarring in varying degrees – and I think that’s the point. But feathery, whispering vocals counter Crow Baby’s stark soundscape, easing the tension where they see fit while simultaneously delivering a cutting consideration of the worth of their art.
“Middle class nice girl/ with her insipid little songs/ just a bourgeois bright girl/ wanna sing along?” they ask, digging into gritty frustration and stark vulnerability in turn. Things turn theatrical and chaotic come the tailend of the track – and yet the jarring quality of it all somehow seems like it’s echoing the feeling they’re trying to emulate.
All this set against a looped visual found in the archives of a public domain – black and white 1950’s-esque frames of House on a Haunted Hill, which lends an equally theatrical horror flair to the mix, leaving a trail of possible metaphor in its wake.
Feature pic supplied by artist
