WATCH: Matador Signees HÆLOS Share Video Triptych

“Pray”/”Dust” single out December 4.
WATCH: Matador Signees HÆLOS Share Video Triptych

“Pray”/”Dust” single out December 4.

Words: FLOOD Staff

photo by Dave Ma

October 27, 2015

HÆLOS // photo by Dave Ma

HÆLOS describe their sound as a “kind of dark euphoria,” and while that does seem like a fairly apt description, it doesn’t capture the full range of what they’re doing. The London trio’s variation on trip-hop certainly captures that scene’s persistent ennui, but it also suggests an almost ritualistic struggle to keep the beat going well beyond its expiration date. “Pray don’t fall down,” goes the chorus to “Pray,” the group’s second single, which was released today. There’s a desperation underlying the automatic clack of the percussion, a straining that makes itself only subtly known—and which is represented overtly in the accompanying video. If there’s a euphoria here, it exists outside of the song, a point toward which the group seem to be actively striving.

“Pray” is part two of a video triptych, following “Earth Not Above” and preceding “Dust,” which was also released today. Together, the three videos show the band wandering their city, battling frustration and one another, and exploding into abstract confusion. You can watch all three below.

“Earth Not Above”

“Pray”

“Dust”

“Pray”/”Dust” is out December 4 on Matador.