Texas' electronic rockers CEDARS released their new album "Cowards" on June 11th, via Gruene Records. Today the band has unleashed their new music video for 'Claymore', talking about the challenges of relationship in a visceral way.
Trigger warning! The video contains graphic content that some may find disturbing!
The band on 'Claymore':
"We wanted to talk about the challenges of relationship in a visceral way. We get told a story about what it takes to "make things work" and often that means betrayal of oneself at some level. We don't think it has to be that way, but it takes a totally different conversation to get past the narratives we're typically handed in western culture.
What parts of ourselves do we kill to stay in relationship? Are there pieces of our inner world that we choose to silence to maintain connection?
Claymore speaks to the feelings of being trapped and knowing that choosing connection means certain parts of who you are will have to be sacrificed, but resurrection and remembering your authentic self is always still within reach. It's never too late."
Video Photo: Courtney Santos - Awkward Eye Photography
The band of the concept of the "Cowards" album:
"Cowards, at its core, is an album about choosing yourself, even in the face of great consequences. So often we find ourselves in situations or systems that ask us to minimize ourselves or our desires or even our needs, but there comes a point where we have to make some really tough choices: do we continue to support the system that is crushing us and building itself on our backs, or do we honour our own still, small voice?
The album is the story of finding ourselves in a season of life where those choices were very pressing, and very loud, with very real consequences. There are times when death is necessary to make room for the new, the better, and sometimes the knife is in our own hands. The album, though full of heavy moments, is also woven with bright strands of hope and light, the kind that can only come after great loss and struggle. How quietly we go to war."
Track listing for "Cowards":
1) Claymore
2) Lost at Sea
3) Chasing Vapor
4) Happy Now
5) Mockingbirds
6) Funeral Dress
7) Formerly Known
8) Give Up The Ghost
9) Bearing Swords
10) Cowards
11) Liminal
Order here:
CEDARS is an electronic rock band from central Texas whose music incorporates the DIY ethos of bands like The Pixies and PJ Harvey, the haunting atmospheres of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, and the infectious grooves of MuteMath. CEDARS is more than just a band: it’s is a vision of community, a community driven by the idea that beauty can save the world. Led by longtime friends Sandeigh Kennedy and Drew Heaton, they blend industrial and organic textures, drawing together disparate elements to marry complex sonic landscapes with compelling stories. Gritty synths and wispy vocals; hard hitting beats and delicate textures are the tools they use to tell powerful, authentic stories that explore truth and beauty.
Also watch the earlier videos:
Formerly Known - https://youtu.be/o7eG1pJgGD0
Chasing Vapor - https://youtu.be/lOdGmO6e2kE
Liminal - https://youtu.be/AUTuTIBDXeQ
Lost at Sea - https://youtu.be/PiP1yXRs8YQ
Cowards - https://youtu.be/2x1d9-qYjbg
Photo credit: Courtney Santos-Awkwardeye Photography
