There's a fine line between 'tasteful nudity' and 'sexploitation', but Danish quartet Lightwave Empire's music video for their debut single "Pleasure and Pain" is definitely within the former category (it does, after all, fit the song's lyrical content perfectly). But first, a brief introduction of the group: the quartet performed as Dutch band Spleen United from 2002-2013, and are now making a new brand of music with producer David Sardy (Rage Against The Machine, LCD Soundsystem, and The Rolling Stones).
"Pleasure and Pain" is certainly more committed to evoking pleasure instead of pain, as stated in their Roskilde Festival description: "The music of Lightwave Empire is breezy and uplifting. It’s alternative pop songs focused on love and life". It's an euphoric blend of airy guitars, soaring falsettos, emphatic exclamations, sweeping synth rhythms and lyrics that insist on seeing the glass of love and life as being half full:
'Pumping hearts
You're exactly where I've been
Another start is the only thing you dream of
After the money's spent
You think of the pelicans flying above the airy endlessness
I'll give you a call
I'll give you a reason
You've got the weapon now
Show me total freedom
Here we go!'
While most of the song's lyrics sound tailor-made for a "Teenage Dream" crowd, there's a possibly autobiographical verse (and a telling scene in the music video where the actors are crying) that reveals another dimension to the song: 'And after the fight/ When everything's calm again/ You think of your children and how you really love them'. Vocalist Bjarke Parbo Riemann's personal inspiration for the album indicates just how crucial a positive outlook on life and love can be:
"Even though the album feels like a splash of sunshine it's born from a personal tragedy that hit the lead singer’s wife a few years back. As a reaction, while helping his wife through the crisis, he started writing a series of spirited and cheerful songs. Get ready to join the empire of love."
