In spite of the rest of the record jacket firmly conforming to familiar soul album cover conventions—gauzy lighting, groovy fonts, almost impossibly teased-out hair—there’s one particular detail on Nashville-based songwriter Alanna Royale’s new LP cover that may stand out to you: a second head jutting out of her shoulder. No, the musician doesn’t have a conjoined twin, but rather she embraces the metaphor of a dual personality across Trouble Is’s nine psych-tinged R&B numbers.
With the LP dropping last Friday via Soul Step Records in conjunction with Trash Casual, Royale is returning with a new self-directed visual for the title track in order to further express the album’s central idea. “‘Trouble Is’ is not just the title track of the record, but the emotional thesis of the entire record,” she clarifies. “As the director and only performer, I wanted to put a physicality to the album cover—the glamorous two-headed Alanna monster. ‘Outside Alanna’ is on and ready to perform from the top, while ‘Inside Alanna’ is in the shadows, a frantic nervous system projected on my body and my own boot on my head. The struggle with duality, being a performer, and what it means to live authentically while also keeping parts of you just for yourself were huge themes.”
Royale goes on to note that the video was far from a solo effort. “Casey Pierce shot and edited the entire video and took in every single note, idea, and wild curveball I threw at him. It was an exhausting shoot to sing the extremely vulnerable lyrics over and over, but ultimately that wear on me really brought the emotion to the forefront.”
Check out the results below. You can also stream the record here, and find Royale’s upcoming tour dates here.
