Nandi Rose Plunkett aka Half Waif has released a video for the lead single from her upcoming album Lavender, out on April 27th via Cascine. Its a brooding yet beautiful piece of synth-pop, the chords weigh heavy on the track, giving it that feeling of almost drowning at some points, while over the top Plunketts rich vocal, sometimes shrouded in harmony, sometimes clear, pulls at your collective heart strings. Of the track, she says its “about the evolution of the self in a relationship: the maintenance of autonomy in the midst of a process of coupling, ageing, and decay.”
As a concept its illustrated in the Celina Carney-directed video by “showing two states of being that we experience in relationships: together and alone,” Plunkett explains. “The two boxers stand off as if to fight but then dissolve into a series of movements that depict both a struggle and a communion. They push off each other in one moment and guide each other the next. Meanwhile, alone inside a clear box, the solitary character explores confined movement and confronts boundaries that are invisible yet impermeable. Throughout the video, the three ‘Diamond Head’ dancers act as a kind of Greek Chorus, mischievously threading between the two states of being, operating as the only connection between the isolated islands. Together, these entities explore the ways we attempt to escape from ourselves by hiding inside others – and what we hide from others by keeping it for ourselves.”
She’s in the midst of a European tour with Iron & Wine, which arrives in the UK next week – details below.
Half Waif live dates:
Feb 6 – Vienna, Austria @ Wuk ^
Feb 8 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Hypernia ^
Feb 10 – Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof ^
Feb 11 – Paris, France @ Café de la Danse ^
Feb 13 – Birmingham, UK @ Symphony Hall ^
Feb 14 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Helix ^
Feb 15 – Manchester, UK @ Bridgewater Hall ^
Feb 16 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo ^
Mar 16 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Cattivo *
Mar 17 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar *
Mar 18 – Lexington, KY @ The Burl *
Mar 19 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Mar /20 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop *
Mar 21 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Backroom at Colectivo Coffee *
Mar 22 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Salon *
^ w/ Iron & Wine
* w/ Mitski
