Heaven To A Tortured Mind, the critically acclaimed 2020 album from Yves Tumor, has not only garnered worldwide praise as one of the best releases of the year, it has also become the timely and unexpected soundtrack to the current unravelings of the world. Today, the artist and muse share the cinematic new video for standout single, “Kerosene!”, starring Diana Gordon and directed by Cody Critecheloe.
Yves Tumor has become equally revered for groundbreaking music and accompanying visuals and this new offering challenges the status quo of the pop mainstream even further. The video centers around a volatile love triangle; arousal, jealousy, and lust drive an abstract narrative that nods to wild excess and untamed human desire. Director Cody Critcheloe (Robyn, Grizzly Bear, Perfume Genius, King Princess, Kylie Minogue), known to many under his artist moniker SSION, has built a cult following around the surreal story-telling he does through both film and painting.
Critcheloe offers, “We set out to create an epic rock-n-roll-swindled story around a motley crew of characters as they navigate a day in the life of what should be called the Hottest/Nastiest love-triangle in what’s left of Middle America… That’s a bit sensational, but, then again… why not? Shot over the course of 5 days in Kansas City after sitting on this treatment for almost a year I feel like making this video was a way for everyone involved to unleash all the junk up in our heads. It was a really fab experience… very communal, a tab bit occult-y and very bbq… the really sweet kind of bbq. Yves Tumor, Diana Gordon, Bailey Stiles, and Chris Greatti tear it crazy across the heartland as they loosen a few notches on the Bible Belt in pursuit of glam packed caloric excess all-across-the-bored.
Heaven To A Tortured Mind - written and composed by Yves Tumor, produced by Yves Tumor and Justin Raisen (Sky Ferreira, Ariel Pink, Charli XCX), and augmented by guest performances by Diana Gordon, Kelsey Lu, Julia Cumming, and more - marks the fourth official full-length release from Yves Tumor and the follow-up to 2018's critically acclaimed and era-defining, Safe In The Hands Of Love. The album's release was preceded by an arresting video for "Gospel For A New Century" directed by Isamaya Ffrench. Press around the world cited the release as a triumph, earning covers at FLAUNT and High Snobiety and press praise from the New York Times, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Complex, Pop Matters, Dazed, The Guardian, The Quietus and more, further cementing Heaven To A Tortured Mind as a collection of anthems for a generation.