The New York-based creative returns with a stark single and music video
Bathed in primordial darkness dripping with tangible viscosity, Brandon Ares stimulates the very essence of the senses on “LOWER THAN BEFORE.” As their vocals echo through empty space, drifting along the etheric realm without any manifest tension or urgency, rapidfire percussion suddenly ignites and gives way to material momentum. Ares immediately assumes the focal point of the track both in sight and sound, establishing a gravitational pull that drags the camera toward their face and verbalizations alike, creating deeply personal stakes in a seemingly exorcising process.
As chaotic as “LOWER THAN BEFORE” is visually and structurally, sustained by a breakneck electronic framework that guides its anarchic black-and-white canvas, Ares imbues the single with sneakily dreamy elements that make it more meditative than its nightmarish coating suggests. Their melodies are glistening, offering moments of respite that make time stand still before being absorbed back into the murky underbelly of the woods in which the music video was filmed.
Impressively co-directed and self-produced by Ares, it’s reasonable to intuit that “LOWER THAN BEFORE” has all the makings of a genre-bending auteur in waiting.
Watch the video for “LOWER THAN BEFORE” below.