The trio Lo Moon writes songs that capture very specific stages in a romantic relationship. Its first single, "Loveless," pleads for the restart of a couple's love and sense of trust. Its second, "This Is It," reckons with the end of a relationship, admitting that "there's no way to save this." Its new, third song "Thorns" wrestles with a more complicated, in-between stage, when two people must decide whether it's worth taking the good with the bad.
Despite its trickier subject matter, the song is more subdued than the band's first two singles. While "Loveless" and "This Is It" feel cinematic, with crashing drums and powerful choruses, "Thorns" is carried by '80s-style synths, guitars and the occasional trumpet line.
The video for the song matches its echoing vocals as well as its lyrics. A couple dances together in the first verse until the chorus splits the screen in two. In one half, filled with yellow light, the man and woman dance without touching; in the other, they undress and hold each other in a tight embrace while shrouded in pink. The image is further fragmented as the video goes on, and the partners reminisce on the emotions that coexist in their relationship.
It's a visual which captures the central message of "Thorns," summarized in the line, "We'll learn to outgrow the thorns on the rose." It places moments of intimacy, chaos, hesitation and indifference side by side, and it leaves the viewer wondering whether the thorns were just too sharp.
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