A man makes a checkers move that will probably be fatal. A young couple lie next to each other in bed, the woman twirling a flower. A doe-eyed brunette gets pensive about cutting her hair. A girl in a white dress plays a harp on the street, as passersby stare at something in the sky. Lead singer Charlie Hilton aims a rifle on top of her roof, and is in space at the same time. A bowling ball rolls across the bar. Two boys duel each other with long, saber-like sticks on top of a hill. An old man gets out of his car to stare at the perfectly streamlined, gigantic metallic orb blocking his way.
These are some of the abstract and beautifully choreographed cinematic scenes that compose Portland-based, American alternative rock band Blouse's music video for 'A Feeling Like This', a track off their second album Imperium (2013).
With sparse instrumentation, angular guitar strings and Hilton's marble-cool vocal delivery, the song repeatedly poses the rhetorical question 'Could you stay in a feeling like this?'. There's a delightful abstraction here, that picks of from the emotive longing expressed in the first line ('I really, I wanna stay like this') and then heads off into another level of meaning:
'Constellations popping through the ceilingCould you stay in a feeling like this?The sun slept through a thousand liesWhy should I? Why should I?She slept through a thousand timesWhy should I? Why should I?'
The track deftly creates an arresting, thought-provoking atmosphere. While critics have noted that Imperium has replaced from Blouse's self-titled debut album synth-pop psychedelic leanings and drum machines for a more 'rock' sound, the intellectual slant of their first album is still a felt presence:
"Lyrics transgress emotion and intrigue towards the outside world - in part, it almost sounds like the audible version of a scientist’s written report; fascinated at the things around us and on a journey of discovery in order to find out more." (Jamie Milton, 2011).DIY Mag,
Some listeners may be frustrated by the lyrical persona's preoccupation with philosophical ponderings about time and timelessness - instead of placing more emphasis on the romantic relationship that the verses allude to (especially when the track has the word 'feeling' in it). Those who tend to use emotion as a starting point for thought and reflection will probably relate better to this track.
