Pom Pom Squad have released a new single from their upcoming album Death of a Cheerleader. ‘Crying’ arrives today with an accompanying video co-directed by Julia Sub and frontperson Mia Berrin. Watch it below.
Berrin explained in a statement about the song:
This song is honestly sort of a self-drag. I think during the ‘Ow’ [previous EP] cycle, I convinced myself that through writing these songs I could completely exorcise the demon that was my depression. As It turns out, no amount of songwriting is a substitute for medication and therapy. In terms of thinking in a narrative arc, I knew I wanted to write a song that felt like a bridge between the guitar-based world of the record and the cinematic 50s/60s inspired world of this record. Ultimately it became about a meta-feeling – being angry at yourself for being depressed. The character of this song is basically my ego: the part of myself who doesn’t learn, makes the same mistakes constantly, is flaky, can’t admit she’s wrong, is self pitying and who wraps it all up in a bow the color of self deprecation. When I was in college, I joked with my friends that my placement in the 9 alignments was “Chaotic Stupid” which became kind of a persona of it’s own. My dumb-bitch-self. In short, the song is me calling myself whiny. Very glam!
Commenting on the video, Julia Sub added:
This video in many ways is a love letter to the all-consuming act of crying, as well as a confrontation with isolation. Much like the themes in the track, this music video is a reconciliation of internal and external forces — the spaces around us, the spaces inside us and the people that affect us. The swelling of emotion in this beautiful song is visualized through darkness, in an empty movie theater, a warehouse and an old motel. We see this character navigating these spaces just like she is navigating her feelings. The movie theater element is the anchor here, illustrating how examining past experiences and memories can leave us feeling like outsiders looking into our own lives — like watching a movie. My favorite part of this video is how fear is materialized in the form of hands creeping into frame, emphasizing the feeling of being swallowed by the weight of our anxieties. The visual inspiration for this video came largely from old Film Noir aesthetics and the painfully obvious obsession Mia and I have with the absurd and abstract works of David Lynch.
Death of a Cheerleader is out June 25 via City Slang. ‘Crying’ is the third single from the record, following Best New Songs ‘Lux’ and ‘Head Cheerleader’.
