Under a new moniker, Minimal Animal, former Screaming Maldini main man Nick Cox is releasing his first new music since the band, a favourite of ours here at Backseat Mafia, split. Taken from his new EP out today, Nick has released a new video for lead track Rise, which we’re delightedly to premiere here.
Of the song, he says “Rise is in part about social anxiety, which I’ve experienced for as long as I can remember, and about how things can look so much better from the outside than they ever feel on the inside. I wrote it after – with the help of a few people who I love dearly – actually bringing it under control for a prolonged period. It is half a reminder to myself of how I did it, and half a promise to myself to do my best to keep myself on an even keel.“
Certainly, Cox has lost none of his ability to write beautifully skewed and interesting pop music, full of atmosphere and with killer melodies throughout, and just enough melancholy to pull at you’re heartstrings.
Of the jellyfish heavy video “I love the contrast of the super close up shots of these incredibly beautiful and delicate creatures juxtaposed with long shots of millions swarming through the water. For me it brings to mind the perspective I feel when thinking about Marcus Aurelius’s ”abysses of eternity before us and behind”. Sometimes dealing with my emotional well-being day to day is a bit one step forward, two steps back, and hopefully this is reflected in the pulsing forward and backward video editing in the chorus.
