We are honoured to premiere today the video for the visceral, scything track ‘Pulp’ from Melburnian resident Maggie Slater.
From a quiet, delicate opening, ‘Pulp’ transforms into a thundering, cathartic track about a deep seated obsession – you can beat me to pulp and tell me I’m all you want – and the damaging nature of relationships and power imbalances. Slater says of the track:
‘Pulp’ explores the detrimental impact of unhealthy early relationships that many young people, particularly women, experience when they’re young. The song examines this dynamic retrospectively, making space for feminine frustration and pulling influence from female-fronted rock bands of the ‘90s and ‘00s.
The anger and frustration seeps through the track but there is a defiance and resolution as well that is thoroughly satisfying.
The video, directed by Hugo Morgan, contrasts a dynamic live perfomance in a garage filled with vitality and power with fraught scenes of a crumbling relationship. The stasis of the opening chords is reflected in the knitted models of the band and Slater’s dreamy musings, before kicking into reality with a powerful blast. The sense of yearning drenches the video while the live performance pushes back with a certain defiance and emboldened stance.
To add to the tone of the performance, the music video for ‘Pulp’ was inspired by real life conversations and concepts. Slater says of the protagonist:
“She [Ella] really related to the song after hearing it for the first time, as she’d had a very similar experience to me in her first relationship. Then one night we were up late chatting in the living room about these shared experiences, vignettes…then things just kind of went from there.
We really wanted to capture the ups and downs of these turbulent, chaotic, toxic relationships and their often very addictive and destructive nature. To capture the kind of innocence and nuance of these dynamics, that are often undiscussed.
The result is immersive and captivating:
‘Pulp’ is out now and available to stream and download here. You can catch Slater and her band live launching the single – details below.
Sunday 20 November The Workers Club Melbourne Tickets
Supported by Radio Free Alice, My Giddy Aunt
Feature Photograph: Tegan Beswick
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