VIDEO PREMIERE: The Analog Affair - Lies

Laura Kerry

These days, the word “lies” (or, if you prefer, “alternative facts”) carries loaded meaning in the public territory of politics. In the new video for their song that uses it as a title, though, Portland, Oregon–based The Analog Affair explores a more private scope of lies. From When You Go, released last July, “Lies” caps off the indie-pop album with a dramatic finish, building an angelic vocal chorus and dancey electronic voices over smoky piano chords. Evan Baker, the singer and lyricist, and Cody Moser, who handles instrumentation, make a good duo in their push and pull between opposites—in this case, intimacy and detachment. Though “Lies” relies on production and instrumentation that distances the song’s human touch, its personal core comes through: “Tell me all your secrets / Tell me all your lies.”

The video mirrors that tension. Framed by a still woman looking at polaroids on a desk, it cycles through shots of people moving slowly into different poses. Everything is dark, lit only by a hint of natural light from a window, creating a bluish glow on each character's skin against a black background. As the song unfolds, a dark figure comes into view behind the woman and creeps forward until the now-in-focus man holds her in a one-sided embrace. Though this concrete gesture suggests narrative, the Iver Jensen-directed video never fully offers one, remaining instead in an abstract and aesthetic realm. Dark, quiet, and sparse, it captures a strange warmth and eery beauty worthy of a song that shares those qualities.