One can not appreciate life’s many joys without enduring a bit of pain. Singer-songwriter Kris Angelis processes her own feelings on the matter with her stunning, wave-swept new video “That Siren, Hope,” premiering today on American Songwriter.
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In traipsing the water’s edge, before fully submerging herself in chilly depths, Angelis uncovers the beauty that comes with weathering the storm. “I thought that shine was a lighthouse / But it was just that siren, hope / Sang me to sleep / Yeah, she taught me dream / Turns out her song is just a joke…”
She juxtaposes such a harsh lyric against an extraordinary view. Sun hanging high, the beach offers the kind of ecstasy she’s been craving, but the answers quickly fade with the sun’s inevitable march to the horizon. “I’m learning more and more that beautiful and wonderful things often come at a price of some difficulty and pain,” she says.
“That Siren, Hope” splinters on the vine, both hope and melancholy uniting and then withering as one. “[It is] the idea that having hope and striving for something can feel dangerous, like a siren luring you in. It was also very true about the process of making this video,” she continues. “All of the images for the album and video (shot by Lee Holbrook) came with stinging eyes, scratched and cut feet, and trying to keep a peaceful expression while laying down in freezing waves.”
When Angelis returns to land, there is a new-found determination glinting in her eyes. “Going through that process was a full circle realization for me after the seeming despair of the song,” she says, “…that what’s on the other side of the hard times is worth it. That’s why I wrote the lyric: ‘You keep singing and I’ll be the dancer.’ Don’t give up.”
“That Siren, Hope” is the title song to Angelis’ new EP (pre-order here), out Friday, January 24.
Watch “That Siren, Hope” below.
Photo Credit: Lee Holbrook
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