Detroit-based rock band Protomartyr have officially delayed the release of their forthcoming album, Ultimate Success Today, now set for release on July 15 through Domino Records. The band also shares the second single from the record, “Worm in Heaven,” along with a music video reminiscent of Chris Marker’s iconic short film La Jetée.
Protomartyr’s first single from the new record, “Processed By The Boys,” arrived last month along with a music video featuring the band reenacting a Brazilian viral video. “Worm in Heaven” also seeks to comment upon and recreate the techniques used in the low-budget filmmaking of Marker’s short film. Directed by Trevor Naud, the “Worm in Heaven” video strings together still photographs in order to create the visual sensation of movement.
“The idea is a sort of dream chamber that has lured its creator into a near-constant state of isolation,” says director Trevor Naud. “She lives out her days trapped as the sole subject of her own experiment: the ability to simulate death. It is like a drug to her. Everything takes place in a small, claustrophobic environment. With soft, yet sterile visuals. Perhaps a strange combo to reference, but imagine the cover of the Rolling Stones’ Goat’s Head Soup and the character of Carol White in Todd Haynes’ 1995 film Safe.”
The song’s lyrics also bring forth imagery of death and worth, with frontman Joe Casey crooning: “I am a worm in heaven / so close to grace / could lick it off of the boot heels of the blessed.”
While Protomartyr have cancelled all of the scheduled 2020 tour dates for the spring and summer due to coronavirus, the band plans to tour when it’s safe to gather again. The band’s previous releases were the 2017 album Relatives in Descent as well as the 2018 Consolation EP and a 2018 split Irony Prompts a Party Rat with Spray Paint.
Check out the music video for “Worm in Heaven” below.
