Video: Tristen – “Wrong With You”

Directed by Joshua Shoemaker. From Aquatic Flowers, out June 4 on Mama Bird.

Another great song from Tristen’s upcoming album. Can’t wait to hear the whole thing! The opening chords of this one call to mind Johnny Marr. Sort of a “Half a Person” vibe.

In the video our hero tromps through the woods in a slow-motion wedding dress all spooky like a jilted ghost, her smoky eye makeup smeared and running down her wet cheeks. I’m sure it’s not intentional, but her look reminds me of recent instagram posts by Britney Spears. I started following Britney after the whole #savebritney movement and, especially in that context, her little videos are disturbing. She dances around her house in sportswear with what appears to be a forced smile. Both her eye shadow and haunted demeanor are similar Tristen’s in this video. Or maybe I’m projecting.

“‘Wrong With You’ takes a look at a masochist so attuned to their own self-loathing and emotional manipulations that they can’t help but pity anyone who tries to get close,” says Tristen. “The more love they are given, the more skeptical and withdrawn they become. With the backdrop bopping like what I hoped felt like a Marshall Crenshaw tune, in a strange emotional twist, the protagonist knows they are treating their lover badly as some kind of test because, if they can love you through the pain, their love is somehow more true.”