ABRA has been lowkey releasing some of the best, most individual pop music of the last couple years, and today she graces us with a video for the already-premiered single “Crybaby” from her Princess EP, the follow-up to last year’s excellent and under-appreciated Rose.
The dank, late-nite quality of her music is matched beautifully here by imagery from director Zaiba Jabbar: ABRA and co. drive out to the flatlands, lurk around desolate buildings, rollerskate in a neglected swimming pool, etc. Everything, particularly the Darkwave Duchess herself, is draped in shadow, the light never directly hitting her, making the singer seem remote and out on some other level.
“Crybaby” is one of the most distinctly ABRA-esque songs the singer has released to date: she keeps production to a minimum of just what’s necessary, leaving space for her vocals to do the emotional heavy lifting from a tower of reverb. As approachable as her songs are, ABRA often seems as if she is singing from across the room, and it’s this combination of big emotions and a cool detachment and reflection that helps to characterize her style. If most of her Awful labelmates have made their claim in the hedonism of a party at its peak, then ABRA’s music is for the drive home, the comedown, and the hangover.
Watch the video for “Crybaby” above. Princess is available today from Awful Records/True Panther.
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