There’s something undeniably chaotic about the new Soft Robot video for “Happiness” (taken from Nothingness in Vogue). Three paper masked characters perform choreography along with the song lyrics while glitched out effects, datamoshing and general visual cacophony plays out over the course of nearly 4 minutes. Oddly enough, it’s a captivating experience, not an unsettling one.
Reading along with the lyrics gives the madness of the video some additional, heart heavy, context. One stanza reads:
Coming over when I cook
Broke my heart then
The wine took
All of my hope
Down the death slope
I’m desperate enough
With the lyrical context in mind, the madness of the visuals feels entirely appropriate as a reflection of the madness one feels in an emotional spiral.
There’s plenty to more to say about Nothingness in Vogue that we’ll save for a full review but “Happiness” serves as an excellent introduction to the many layers ready to be peeled back.