Rope is a work of musical art. It all starts off with a stunning and elegant wall of strings, that are truly allowed to breathe and flow during the heavenly 30 second intro to the tune. His voice contrasts well over the strings and introduction of a beat as he tells a tale of love, desire, lust, control - all imbued with a healthy wink of humour, particularly when he sings about not being able to tie somebody down with rope. It effortlessly weaves from being something that reminds me of a darker Feeling song through to the giddy addition of tingling synths that give it a more classic 80s Erasure-ish vibe. It's apt that he sings intricate and delicate during the middle 8 as it describes both the content of the tune and the creation of it's melody. Quite lovely and strangely alluring. And now it has a video! Read on my pretties...
The video:
- The video kicks off with some stark images of Apollo standing in a lake; each one is worthy of a print to decorate your studio walls.
- A mist rolls over the eerily still water, Apollo standing with a rose in his mouth - when he reveals his ripped t-shirt and rubs his own arms, there's a fragility & vulnerability to him that draws you in...
- (plus he must be freezing...)
- It's interesting that he sings "i can't control you" as he stands in water, perhaps one of the most uncontrollable forces on the planet. I love a bit of visual symmetry I do.
- Pause at 1m22 to see Apollo in the most amazing crown of thorns-esque blindfold. Biblical!
- Now Apollo is in war games gear - the vaguely threatening lyrics mixed with these vivid images of Apollo create a defined contrast to the beautiful scenery he inhabits...
- There is now Butterfly Bowtie Apollo interspersed with shots of Skull T-shirt Apollo lying in the grass. He looks sort of bewildered, almost like he's the roped victim of desperately in love vocalist Apollo...
- Each Apollo in the video seemingly represents a different facet of the real Apollo's personality, yet each contributes to expressing the emotions of the lyrics. It's quite fascinating to watch.
- Night falls, the candles create a flickering, ghostly backdrop as the lyrical and vocal pleadings from a shadowy Apollo continue...
- The waning falling arms from a christ like pose captures the final image from a genuinely engrossing cinematic experience. Bravo...
very nice video
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