Autre Ne Veut Announces Age Of Transparency LP, Shares Disquieting New Video

I'm not alone is a lyric that's all about context: it could be a loving reassurance, or it could fearful, depending on where you're standing. The same could be said for the video it's lifted from, Autre Ne Veut's "World War Pt. 2," which—depending on how you're looking at it—is either a really creepy romance or a really subtle body horror. While "World War Pt. 2"'s production meanders between squeaky, bouncy riffs and mournful echoes, and recalls the catchy pop existentialism of "Counting," the video (directed by Allie Avital) shows Arthur Ashin wander around his big, mostly empty, American Psycho-pristine house while a smaller parasitic person hangs off him. Avital says in the press release that the parasite, played somewhere between lovingly and terrifyingly by Macy Sullivan, represents "a metaphor for the many burdens we carry with us."

The track and video come with the announcement of Ashin's third studio album, and his first since 2013's Anxiety. Ashin explains that the new record Age of Transparency is the second in a trilogy (see the Anxiety-referencing artwork below), and the roots of the title definitely sound pretty anxious: “The title comes from marketing jargon,” he explains in a statement. "It’s a term for the place we’re in now, where truth and transparency are just ways to sell things and honesty is its own kind of performance.” Look out for it on October 2nd via Downtown Records, and watch the video above.

Age of Transparency tracklist:

1. On and On (Reprise)
2. Panic Room
3. Cold Winds
4. Age of Transparency
5. Switch Hitter
6. Never Wanted
7. Word War Pt. 2
8. Over Now
9. Get Out