Moses Sumney’s debut album Aromanticism covers a broad emotional spectrum of longing, fear, indignation, lust, and joy. The unifying theme is in the title: the singer discovered he identified with the description “aromantic”- someone who is uninterested in the intimacy of a romantic partnership, and most of the songs grapple with what this means for the artist and for the kinds of relationships he’s capable of having.
The music video for “Lonely World” re-interprets The Little Mermaid as a nightmare. The mermaid’s form is more Cronenberg than Disney- evoking body horror at her sealed lips coughing sea water, her bound legs, her claw-like fingernails.
The erotic apprehension between the characters morphs seamlessly into a violent struggle; the video expresses the fear that someone else’s vulnerability and need can become a deadly burden. There’s a fear of losing oneself to another’s power, the fear of becoming close to an Other, and being betrayed by that which you don’t understand.
Sumney’s work often feels deeply skeptical about the nature of love itself, but this is matched by an introspection and thoughtfulness that keeps it from edging into nihilism. He brings the same complexity to his visual art; this video’s premise is simple, but the camera work and beautifully evocative emotional performances elevate it into a moving, disturbing narrative work of art.