Pitchfork

We know, Electrelane are on an indefinite hiatus, but that hasn't kept the Brighton, England band from leaving us a video to remember them by. The all-female four-piece wrote their excellent swan song No Shouts, No Calls in Berlin, which should help explain the title of the video selection, "In Berlin". That's a useful bit of knowledge, because not a whole lot in keyboardist Verity Susman's soft, breathy vocals here is comprehensible without close listens. Susman's oohing vocalese joins frigid violins, crystalline guitars (by Mia Clarke, a music journalist who-- full disclosure!-- has written for Pitchfork in the past), bass, and Krautrock-informed drums in building a track that is more about sensibility than sense. Wait, or is it supposed to be the other way around?

The video for "In Berlin" is just as mysterious, creating a downcast, wintry mood while always remaining a little detached. The members of Electrelane can occasionally be seen standing around looking glum, perhaps anticipating the bummer of hiatus, but mostly the lens spins slowly around a room of creepy CGI delights. A wire chassis-like figure in the shape of a woman sways and raises its hand as the mirrors around it shatter. "You are all that I need," Susman repeats, and whatever else may be going on here, the ache of longing behind that sentiment is a feeling anyone can probably understand. Directed by Cassiano Prado.

[from No Shouts, No Calls; out now on Too Pure]