I’ve been reluctant to write this post, knowing that it may well be one of the last I write about Screaming Maldini. In case you’ve missed every recent post about the band, you should know that Screaming Maldini are going their separate ways after spending 5 long years trying to make it in the music industry.
This week Screaming Maldini have given us their final music video, a stop-motion project created by talented 16 year old Natalie Ratcliffe.
The video tells us a story from a book, where the characters (quite literally) stand up and share their adventure with us. It starts with a girl, looking out of her window and wishing for something more. She goes out to a tree in her garden, swinging under its paper branches, looking out at the sky.
But she’s not alone. The girl finds a boy through the paper trees and they sit at a campfire together before heading to the stars. This is the start of their relationship and it looks promising; “I’ll run rings around your body, around your body, and you will mine.”
Suddenly we’re back to the chorus, and the girl has returned to her tree. The boy is nowhere in sight and we hear “I’ll survive, flinging my arms out wide.” Has he left her? Or was it all just a dream? Later on we see the couple have reunited, but only for a second. The boy disappears once again and the girl is left drifting through the cosmos, wondering if she’ll ever see him again.
She is a paper girl from a paper town, where everything is paper-thin and frail; even relationships are fragile. And we’re left wondering; was any of it real? The words “For now I’m happy fooling myself that he’s there” suggests we may be wishing for a happy ending where there isn’t one, but is that so harmful?
Screaming Maldini have given us a powerful song about the idea of relationships and how easy it is to get carried away. When I first reviewed this song, I said “it’s important to stay grounded even when you’re gazing at the skies.” Maybe that’s still true, but don’t let reality keep you from dreaming.
Watch ‘Solar System’ below:
Don’t forget to buy tickets to Screaming Maldini’s final gig here: Eventbrite
The band will be supported by Laurel Canyons and Bang Bang Romeo on Friday 5th December at Queen’s Social Club, Sheffield.
Pre-order Screaming Maldini’s second and final album, Everything Unsaid, here: Bandcamp
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