“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Philosopher, Henry David Thoreau
May 28th, 2014: In the desert north of L.A. something magical is happening. A transformation of sorts really. Today’s musicians need to paint well outside the lines of conformity when establishing new soundscapes. Thus, unconventional collaborations between artists and directors help lay the foundation for a new way to experiencing music. First, take the roots of the hauntingly beautiful song “Feral Love” from the L.A. based Goth taste maker Chelsea Wolfe; then, mix in the visionary splendour of director Mark Pellington, the cred behind quintessential videos from U2 to Michael Jackson to Springsteen not to mention such Kafkanian films like “Arlington Road” and “The Mothman Prophecies”; finally, construct a ground breaking art-house narrative around those lyrics and the result is the unique visceral experience entitled “Lone”.
A myriad of cinematic devices are comfortably employed as idiosyncratic images and story arcs effortlessly span themes from eros to eerie, life to death and hope to fear. With ingénue offerings, Wolfe’s porcelain beauty is omnipresent as her softer image and willowy inflection coalesces lovingly with Pellington’s use of shadows and light. The connective tissue between vignettes is the sometimes beautiful sometimes disquieting lyrics from the third studio album, “Pain is Beauty”. These poignant lyrical snippets and salacious soliloquies rounds out the push and pull beauty of Lone.
Baltimore native Pellington is firmly in charge of his craft as he playfully mixes symbolism as easily as he mixes cinematic metaphors. With Lone firmly entrenched in the experimental outfield of mixed media, moody passages and stylistic imagery, the final cut could only have be attained with a small army of skilled professionals at the ready. Director of Photography Matt Sakatani Roe together with Art Director Massimiliano Constantini discarded any semblance the safety net in favour of an unrestricted tone that straddles the line between meditative and manic. Free flowing with unnerving images of dread that never lingering long enough for full comprehension, Lone finds itself comfortably nestled somewhere between darker versions of an extended Calvin Klein Eternity campaign from yesteryear and the ethereal earthiness of Enya mixed with the subversive styling’s of Amy Lee from Evanescence.
Verdict: 4 out of 5: The successful marriage of words with images is never a given in the cinematic milieu. And yet Pellington’s experimental collaboration artfully mines both the beauty and the despair in Wolfe’s words into an earthy amalgam of tension. The strength of Lone begins with its ability to break with convention but doesn’t end there. In my opinion, the subtle images and atmospheric context harkens back to some of the memorable fears conjured up in Pellington’s 2002 breakout hit, The Mothman Prophecies. With Lone, you are forced to let down your guard, open your eyes and interpret the unknown.
Lone ruminates on the visceral landscape of life, death and expression.
Chelsea Wolfe Discography:
- Pain is Beauty (2013)
- Sing Songs Together (2013)
- Unknown Rooms: A Collection Of Acoustic Songs (2012)
- Apokalypsis (2011)
- The Grime And The Glow (2010)
Lone Chelsea Wolfe review
Genre: Experimental Music / Movie Hybrid
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 2013
Director: Mark Pellington
Story: Mark Pellington
Producers: Cathy Pellow, Paul Bock
Executive Producers: Cathy Pellow, Marc Jetton
Director of Photography: Matt Sakatani Roe
Art Director: Massimiliano Constantini
Lyrics & Dialogue: Chelsea Wolfe
Runtime: 52 Minutes
Website: www.markpellington.com
Cast: Chelsea Wolfe, Richard Kray, Bianca D’Ambrosio, Chiara D’Ambrosio, Ben Chisholm, John Wallbank, Redford Westwood, Derin Gbadebo, Saya Ono, Jeneta St. Clair, Jeff Roncone, Rhoda Pell, Siena Dimalanta, Bron Smith
