Doja Cat might have pissed conservatives off with her sexy devil photoshoot, but no one does dark religious imagery like Yves Tumor. The eclectic indie rocker’s work has always centered on biblical references. Heaven, hell, demons, and angels can be found a home in their art (i.e., the videos for singles “God Is A Circle” and “Kerosene!“). Tumor’s latest video for the song “Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood” continues in that tradition.
The single featured on their forthcoming album, Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), spins that narrative that no matter how pure your intentions are, eventually, life will chew you up and spit you out.
Tumor opens the track with a harrowing story as they sing, “I met a boy with no head / I looked into his eyes / You know he was so pure at heart / For a moment we became each other / We found a love that made us slowly fall apart / I see the color red in so many places / This world feels so ugly / When life makes a fool of us.”
Throughout the video, director Cody Critcheloe masterfully incorporated Bible references to heighten the sorrow outlined in the song. The story is not lost on the viewing audience from Tumor’s rapid mood swings, bloodshot eyes, and crowned hair. However, the video’s ending scene stings the most. As the young actor playing Tumor says, “I like the color blue because it’s in the sky, and that’s where God is,” the theme of pure innocent is fully explored.
The actor’s declaration of their love apple while enjoying a ripe red apple as the scene transitions to Tumor seated on a rotating prop apple core sporting a blue wing. The contrast between the joy seen in the child actor’s eye with Tumor’s cold-hearted expression is jarring, which drives home the point that a stained outlook on the world is a product of life’s slowly but steadily taking bites out of us all.
Watch the full video above.