Video: Majical Cloudz-Childhood's End

"Childhood's End", the first single off Impersonator, Majical Cloudz's first proper album, is haunting. Ungodly haunting. There really is no other way to put it. It gives nothing away, slowly building tinkering piano lines and thick, wobbly beats that create and capture the atmosphere of the track instantly. Then everything snaps into focus once Devon Welsh's vocals kick in, his "not-quite-but-almost" croon the perfect tool to convey the intensity of the subject matter, a confused and almost heartbreaking meditation on trying to understand life and death. His final cries of "Won’t someone come?", over and over again are so powerful that they echo in the mind for days, inexplicable anguish over trying to comprehend something.

Then there is the video. A stark, black and white portrait of an old man's last few moments, it paints an almost Henry Darger picture of someone living a secluded life and finding solace in their own, secret art. The final act of him finding release and actual happiness in death is both chilling and powerful, made all the more potent that it was Welsh's actual father portraying all of this. Everything about "Childhood's End", from the song to video it now soundtracks, is an emotional sucker punch, the type of music that makes the chest swell and causes chills to go down the spine. Listening to it now, I take back my opening statements slightly. There is one other way to describe "Childhood's End": absolutely incredible.

Links:

Majical Cloudz's Tumblr
Pre-order Impersonator here, from Matador Records