Best known as members of acclaimed Quebec City-based Francophone rock act Caravane, Dominic Pelletier’s and Raphaël Potvin’s latest project New Bleach is a decided sonic departure. The duo’s latest single, is the slinky and moody “Awake.” Featuring shimmering synths, a sinuous bass line, shuffling four-on-the-floor and an infectious hook, the duo’s latest single is a disco-like track that brings Oracular Spectacular-era MGMT to mind.
Thematically, the song is centered around a rhetorical question: “What if death was just a dream?” In these profoundly difficult and uncertain times, we’re all facing our own morality and impermanence. However, “Awake” suggests that there’s beauty in the ephemeral nature of everything: mainly that the small moments are imbued with a deeper meaning and importance that we often overlook as rush about our lives.
Directed by Maxyme Gagné, Dominic Pelletier and Raphaël Potvin, the recently released accompanying video is centered around brooding yet lysergic visuals reminiscent of Stranger Things. We see the duo in front of a background that slowly shift from red, blue and purple with zombie-like dopplegängers, glitchy VHS-like effects and hints at murder and mayhem. Interestingly, the video much like the song finds the duo balancing menace and murkiness with a mischievous and whimsical air.