Danny Alexander
Toronto band Kaleidoscope Horse possess a certain charm that makes the divide between the real and their own fantastical world uncertain. One thing is clear; their theatrical brand of psych-rock will draw your attention. In the video for their new song "Idious Carrie", directed by Slone McGowan, we follow the titular "Carrie," played by theatre student Morgyn L. Davies, as she wanders aimlessly through a shop of vintage miscellanea before culminating in an ambrosial dance party.There's a cabaret-esque vibe here and the accompanying music completely immerses the viewer in "Carrie"'s world, blending 60s rock with Weimar-esque composition. We reached out to the band and asked them a few questions about the video and self-reflection.
Kaleidoscope Horse: The band started when Sam, Des and Kyle met in Seneca College's Independent Music Production program four years ago. Being forced to write together, and naturally flocking together like the tribe that we are, caused us to naturally musically collide. Kyle, helping Sam and I on bass and generally being supportive of what we were writing, introduced us to the band he is in, the Feverish Lemons, with his brother and his best friend. Sean and Taylor joined after hearing what we had been writing, and we've been playing with this full line up of 5 for almost two years now.The video is very abstract and theatrical, with a hypnotic quality. What is going on exactly?
In the video, Idious Carrie struggles to find comfort in her own way of being. The band members act merely as parts of herself, coming to their own levels of comfort by the end. The video is abstract, and though there is a very specific story at play, the video is meant to cause intrigue to the character and song itself. The imagery of insects (that sonically and visually tends to make people uncomfortable) are all becoming other versions of themselves–a theme played on throughout.What is the song about?
"Idious" is a word made up to describe the combination of two conflicting states of being, co-existing inside of a person. Particularly malice and innocence. Maliciousness is described using the word insidious–which is defined as "proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects." Carrie was a name that stems from the girl from the movie/horror story of a girl with powers, misunderstood by the world which brings out the worst in her. The concept of the song describes battling with these inner conflicts, but eventually accepting that they can co-exist. The dark and light are things we all possess, and to accept them is freedom to explore oneself without judgment.Daniel G. Wilson is a writer and musician from Mississauga. He's on Twitter.
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Noisey: How did the band start?
Kaleidoscope Horse: The band started when Sam, Des and Kyle met in Seneca College's Independent Music Production program four years ago. Being forced to write together, and naturally flocking together like the tribe that we are, caused us to naturally musically collide. Kyle, helping Sam and I on bass and generally being supportive of what we were writing, introduced us to the band he is in, the Feverish Lemons, with his brother and his best friend. Sean and Taylor joined after hearing what we had been writing, and we've been playing with this full line up of 5 for almost two years now.The video is very abstract and theatrical, with a hypnotic quality. What is going on exactly?
In the video, Idious Carrie struggles to find comfort in her own way of being. The band members act merely as parts of herself, coming to their own levels of comfort by the end. The video is abstract, and though there is a very specific story at play, the video is meant to cause intrigue to the character and song itself. The imagery of insects (that sonically and visually tends to make people uncomfortable) are all becoming other versions of themselves–a theme played on throughout.What is the song about?
"Idious" is a word made up to describe the combination of two conflicting states of being, co-existing inside of a person. Particularly malice and innocence. Maliciousness is described using the word insidious–which is defined as "proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects." Carrie was a name that stems from the girl from the movie/horror story of a girl with powers, misunderstood by the world which brings out the worst in her. The concept of the song describes battling with these inner conflicts, but eventually accepting that they can co-exist. The dark and light are things we all possess, and to accept them is freedom to explore oneself without judgment.Daniel G. Wilson is a writer and musician from Mississauga. He's on Twitter.