REVIEW: Emily Blue's Music Video Release "Cellophane"
By Violet Foulk
Chicago’s Emily Blue creates some of the catchiest bubblegum pop tunes I’ve heard in a while.
Her self-described “glitchy pop” is refreshing as hell -- think FKA twigs meets Sylvan Esso, with technicolor aesthetics and the modern twist of calling out the faults of the patriarchy. Her newest track, “Cellophane” takes her poppy sound and vintage feel to the next level while simultaneously smashing (literally, with a bat) these patriarchal standards. The accompanying visuals, out today, were produced/edited/directed by Sarah Zelman (Zeltron2020). Met with the infectiously catchy song, produced by Max Perenchio, “Cellophane” is an exciting precursor to Emily’s forthcoming EP, *69.
“Cellophane,” which just dropped last week, pokes fun at the patriarchal power dynamics we sometimes experience in relationships. “Don't you wish everything was still wrapped up in cellophane? / Put it by the door and walk away; / I'm just hoping that you see it and you call someday,” she confesses charmingly in the chorus. “Do you still want me, do you still need me in your arms, / or is there somebody else you’re dreaming of when I'm gone?” her dreamy voice soars in the second verse.
Behind the scenes of Production Designer Olivia J. Laird /
Photo by Matthew Hollis
The video follows Emily between two lives -- a housewife and a singer. It flashes back and forth between her cleaning and cooking, and singing into an old microphone, all with the colorful retro look and feel of the ‘50s. The mood changes, however, with less than a minute left of the video, when Emily drops her Jell-O cake and all hell breaks loose. She begins to trash the house, smashing furniture with a bat to the soundtrack of glitchy synths and one last chanted chorus. If we’re being honest, we’ve all been in a relationship at one point or another that made us want to take a bat to the house.
Although the video takes place from a ‘50s housewife’s point of view, the team behind it met under sheerly modern circumstances, as director Sarah Zelman explained. “I met Emily and every member of my crew separately through Instagram. I think that we are in a renaissance of art enabled by social media where creators can find other like-minded people and network in new ways.”
Watch the video for “Cellophane” below: