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Curses - Miriam (Directed by Jordan Hemingway) Taken from Curses - Incarnadine LP [DA019] 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒎. The “Miriam” music video is shot by the director and photographer, Jordan Hemingway, whose moody aesthetic fits precisely with the song's theme. Submerged in a haunting blue, the video begins with a curtain call, an entrance into the shadowy confines of Curses’ seemingly damned world. Bandmates Luca Venezia and Dame Bonnet are featured alongside the femme fatale, Jess Maybury, who is iconic in her own right—much like the goth heroine, Patricia Morrison. Maybury’s elegance is articulated as she longingly grasps onto chains, a skull and, of course, a rose throughout the song. While the video mimics The Hunger’s severe lighting, it also recalls the nocturnal extremities of another goth movie classic, 1994’s The Crow. Both movies, striking in their delivery, are found in Hemingway’s interpretation of “Miriam.” There are a few moments over the course of goth’s history that defined the subculture’s trajectory. One would be the 1983 vampire movie, The Hunger, starring David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon. Awash in cold, melancholy hues, the movie evokes an empty desire—an unfulfilled and eternal hunger that unfolds in its dramatic haze, as the love triangle of characters struggle with desire and mortality (they are vampires, after all). The second instance of goth excellence derives from The Sisters of Mercy’s music video for “Dominion” in 1988. Shot in Petra, Jordan, the duo of Andrew Eldritch and Patricia Morrison galavant in their white outfits under the relentless desert sun. “Dominion”’s bombastic chorus matched the epic proportions of the video, unforgettable in its dazzling display of goth-dom. Flash forward to 2022, and that evocative spirit is still felt. Curses’ album, Incarnadine, that was released on the Dischi Autunno label earlier this year, invokes the dramatism of such moments, especially with the single, “Miriam.” Quite literally about the protagonist of The Hunger (played by Denuve), the song relishes in the pain of extremities: an insatiable love lost, the sacrifice made for that person—or creature—of the night. “The idea of Miriam being this immortal symbol of love contrasting with an edge of fragile existence and ability to destroy anyone against her path is intriguingly romantic to me: the beauty of tragedy and elusive passion,” says Curses about the song. Here, deep in the underbelly of Miriam’s lair—in the debris of memories—bodies transform, time slithers away. Lush and ripe, they all must fade… and that is beautiful. Directed by Jordan Hemingway Artist Agency - MA Art Executive Producer - Joseph Radonich Line Producer - Joseph Beattie DoP - James Beattie 1st AC - George Beattie Camera Trainees - Thomas Wood & Jack Sullivan Gaffer - Matt Moran Spark - Damien Gray Spark - Josh Simpson Production Designer - Fin O'Sullivan Editor & Visual Effects - Liam Oz Stylist - Rachael Rodgers Hair Stylist - Roxy Attard Artist Agency - Future Rep Makeup Artist - Lauren Reynolds Model - Jess Maybury Model Agency - Milk Model Management Camera Equipment - Panavision Lighting Equipment - Glo Film Lighting Film Print Scan - CPC London Vhs Transfer - Stanley Productions Guitars - God’s Own Guitars Bass - Dame Bonnet
