East London’s Tempesst new single “Prisoner Of Desire” is just what we needed to gain that necessary new hope for new indie rock to take our breath away. Pun intended or not, and having seen the latest from Tom Cruise or not, this is a track for both old-timers and new-timers. A perfect song to introduce new indie-rock lovers to what is this rock thing all about, and a perfect track to re-focus old timers with their ever favourite music genre.
Prisoner of Desire’ is what they call “a bold step forward“. It mixes what is their already known psych-rock sonority with bits of modernity and lots and lots of power and sentiment. The track starts right in the chorus, like a punch in the shin. One of those much-needed punches in our routine. A deep voice presents itself as a prisoner of a self-centred life. In the video, he is portrayed encaged, stuck like a dove inside its cage.
As the track evolves inside a circular structure, the better dressed this character is presented. And as the video features the whole band in a sort-of classic scenario that mixes a western vibe (also very well present in the track’s sonority). In the subtle evolution of instrumentality, we find, as listeners, completely stuck in its power. There are of course resemblances with acts such as Nick Cave (the deep meaningful voice), The National (the powerful melancholy) or Leonard Cohen (the deep production), but there are bags of modernity in it too. An attitude that won’t be mistaken for something fake or forced. The whole Tempesst project emanates it effortlessly.
Singer Tom Banjanin explains the meaning behind a track that is mostly emotional and heart-honest: “There are these two opposing forces – the need for connection and love, and the need to feel a sense of freedom. One can’t be traded for the other – they’re both equally important and this song is about navigating that while testing the boundaries of a relationship. Everybody writes about the beginning of relationships – that magical, all-consuming time when there is an overwhelming sense of joy and love. But what happens after that, when you need to claim back a sense of yourself while still being whole-heartedly committed to that person? The song asks those questions“
I’m a Prisoner of Desire
And I keep my cell neat
‘Cause I’m done taking victims in this self-centred life
And I stayed the night
Because I’m not one to retreat
And I watched you go to sleep as peaceful as a dove
Peaceful as a doveI’ll be the wandering cowboy, looking for a home
Babe, I’ll be the butterfly in your glass dome
‘Cause every Mona Lisa needs a velvet rope
I’m a Prisoner of Desire
And I know the guilty don’t rest their feet
So I practice a shade of sin
In between black and white
My merciless memory
Keeps no record of my wrongs
Like the gilded history, of our old navy’s painted hall
It’s not history at all
I’ll be the wandering cowboy, looking for a home
Babe, I’ll be the butterfly in your glass dome
‘Cause every Mona Lisa needs a velvet rope
To keep the dirty hands away
The precious cargo safe
To keep the vultures from picking at their prey
And the old thief from the door
Out of my mind and off my shoulder
Because he takes and takes ‘til there’s no more
I raised El dorado and I’m still looking for the gold
Babe, I’ll be the butterfly in your glass dome
‘Cause every Mona Lisa needs a velvet rope
Featuring a video shot and directed by Andrea Banjanin, the track is mixed and produced by Elliot Heinrich (Michael Kiwanuka, Metronomy, Nicolas Godin (AIR), POND) and released by Pony Recordings Ltd.
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