The new album from Eliza Edens explores the ecstatic highs and debilitating lows of the Brooklyn-based songwriter’s recent experiences of pleasure-based exploration in the wake of losing any familiar semblance of their mother to dementia. And before you talk to me about the Freudian implications of any of this, just know that the record is titled Death Drive after the neurologist’s libidinal theory, betraying a sense of self-awareness that permeates the easygoing alt-folk explored on these 11 tracks.
The latest single to arrive from the collection ahead of its October 30 release is “Hot & Mean,” wherein Edens begrudgingly recognizes that they may have a less-than-ideal type. “An old friend once described someone I dated many years ago as ‘hot and meek,’” they share, “and so I decided to update the description for my current type: hot and mean. ‘Hot & Mean’ is a stream-of-consciousness exploration of queer situationships, the online culture of lurking, and the revolving door of dopamine highs and lows that modern convenience culture causes. The chorus is as much directed at myself than it is to anyone else. I hope we can all be sloths and move at the speed of geologic time, at least every once in a while.”
The track’s indie-pop bounce matches the lightness with which Edens approaches this subject matter—as does the single’s music video, which was also directed by Edens and sees them choreographing dance moves with friends standing in as the titular hot-and-means in their life. Check it out below, and pre-order Death Drive here.
