Moses Sumney Releases Haunting Video for New Track, “Doomed”

Moses Sumney’s Lamentations EP was one of my favorite releases of last year. It was an intimate portrait of alienation, lending poetry to statements that could otherwise read like “it’s not you, it’s me” in contortionistic auto-tune on “Worth It,” and imbuing surprising meaning in the words “emptiness prevails” on “Lonely World.” On social media this year, Sumney’s been teasing an upcoming album release, and with his recent signing to Jagjaguar, and a new song and video out today, it seems like that may be imminent. Until we get the full LP, there’s the just-released “Doomed.” The track and accompanying imagery are, of course, quite haunting.

The video is directed by Allie Avital, who also did Sumney’s “Worth It” visuals, in which the musician cradles an eyeless, naked dancer. The “Doomed” video is similarly minimalist, and likewise reveals its metaphoric life gradually, by beginning with close-ups and slowly revealing the full breadth of its imagery. Here, we see Sumney floating in a tank of water across from a woman. They stare at each other through the glass, and eventually we behold a field of tanks, each containing a naked individual, in the vein of a more tranquil, albeit no less unsettling, Matrix. Meanwhile, Sumney croons, “Am I vital/If my heart is idle/Am I doomed?” over slow, moaning synths. His voice does most of the emotional work in the song — and that’s all it needs.

Watch the video:

Sumney also took announced a North American/European tour today (dates via Pitchfork):

06.30 New Orleans, LA — Essence Festival
07.07 Winchester, England — Blissfields Festival
07.08 London, England — Somerset House
07.23 Los Angeles, CA — FYF Fest
08.11 Brooklyn, NY — BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
09.02 Dorset, UK — End of the Road Festival
09.22 San Diego, CA — Irenic
09.24 Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Bowl
09.26 San Francisco, CA — Great American Music Hall
09.28 Seattle, WA — Crocodile
09.29 Portland, OR — Doug Fir Lounge
09.30 Vancouver, British Columbia — St. James Hall
10.03 Minneapolis, MN — Icehouse
10.04 Chicago, IL — Old Town School of Folk
10.05 Toronto, Ontario — Mod Club
10.09 Cambridge, MA — Sinclair
10.11 Brooklyn, NY — Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.12 Philadelphia, PA — First Unitarian Church
10.14 Asheville, NC — Mothlight
10.15 Atlanta, GA — Afropunk Festival
10.17 Houston, TX — White Oak Music Hall
10.18 Austin, TX — Parish
10.25 Los Angeles, CA — Fonda Theatre
10.30 Brighton, England — Komedia
10.31 London, England — Islington Town Hall
11.02 Paris, France — Pitchfork Music Festival
11.03 Bruges, Belgium — Cactus Club
11.05 Eindhoven, Netherlands — So What’s Next?
11.07 Cologne, Germany — Kulturkirche
11.08 Prague, Czech Republic — Meetfactory
11.09 Munich, Germany — Ampere
11.12 Berlin, Germany — Berghain Kantine
11.14 Copenhagen, Denmark — Lille Vega
11.16 Amsterdam, Netherlands — Vondelkerk
11.17 Luxembourg, LU — Sonic Visions Festival
11.18 Hamburg, Germany — Überjazz Festival: Kampnagel K2
11.20 Brussels, Belgium — Botanique – Rotunde