Elizabete Balčus is a psychedelic/dream pop artist from Riga, Latvia who recently signed into the Montreal Mothland label family. For her second single “Narcissism Purgatory,” Balčus traded out the dream aspect of her wild soundscapes for more of a nightmare. This is also to announce her upcoming album Hotel Universe, out in mid-September.
I can’t tell you exactly what is going on during her new music video directed by Zane Zelmene, but I’ll try. It seems Elizabete Balčus plays a nurse who attempts to skin graft her more sinister side and turn it into an amalgamation of the light and dark with silicone pieces. This goes horribly wrong and chaos ensues, with a backdrop of frenetic bleeps, fluttering flutes, synth wave chords, and weirdly timed drum mixes, the thrall takes hold and begins speaking backward, kind of Twin Peaks Black Lodge style. The video is unhinged, feeling like a deep-cut Cronenberg film, much like the instrumentation itself which will send your head in a daze.
Folks in Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa will get to see Elizabete Balčus’ diverse and slightly deranged musical style up close and personal as she embarks on a small Canadian tour in Sept. This includes a stop at FME festival in Rouyn-Noranda, where she will open for none other than Animal Collective.
