Vivienne Cure sounds like she’s singing from within a tunnel to a parallel universe on “Fire Flies.” The accompanying music video confirms a sense of the mysterious and otherworldly cast in black and white and a changes of visual perspective. Whether right side up, upside down, sideways, Vivienne Cure is bathed in sheets of doomy, distorted guitar, drums pounding in the cadence of a processional epic. The singer looks clothed in black ceremonial dress, at times partially unclothed to emphasize the raw and bare emotions and other times singing nearly submerged in a bathtub as if to symbolize being surrounded by feelings and both nearly overwhelmed by and buoyed by them as a connection to one’s subconscious self. When she sings “embrace my own dark side” at the end of the chorus it is not a declaration of nefarious intent but an acceptance of the side of one’s psyche, of one’s personality, that is in opposition to conditioned ways of feeling and being. It is a poetic recognition of the process of ignoring the so-called irrational and emotional aspect of a whole human denigrated by a patriarchal culture that bell hooks termed “psychic self-mutilation.” Fans of Anna von Hausswolff and Jarboe will appreciate the elemental strength and delivery of the song. Watch the video for “Fire Flies” on YouTube and connect with Vivienne Cure at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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