If you check out her previous video releases, you’ll notice that Maryze has been exploring a longtime fascination with witchcraft and the occult. That’s why it felt so appropriate when the Montreal singer teamed up with Backxwash, the rap-metal artist who has been gaining traction, especially after her 2020 album God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It won the Polaris Music Prize for album of the year. Together, the duo made “Squelettes,” which found them treading new ground together in hyperpop territory.
Today, we turn our attention back to “Squelettes,” which has a brand new video (dir. by Méchant Vaporwave) that arrives just in time for Halloweekend. Shot in the stark contrast of black-and-white, the visual blends themes of magic, fantasy, and horror, kicking off with an elven Maryze sitting atop a rock beside a candle. This moment feels ritualistic, like her French singing is some sort of dark invocation that sets this opening scene in contrast with the second half of the video.
After a brief flash of color (a quick and fiery blaze set against a shot of a voiceless scream from the singer), we find that we’ve been taken from day i
nto night. And of course, around this time of year, night is when the real fun starts. Maryze’s flowing white gown has been swapped for gothic blacks, and she’s been joined by Backxwash as the pair pose demonically on a dimly lit stoop. Depending on the type of person you are and your relationship with the horror genre, you’ll either delight or reel away at shots like Maryze crawling towards the camera and twisting her neck à la The Exorcist. There’s a great dynamic between singer and rapper: Backwash takes a much more stoic approach in her physicality. She almost seems like some sort of dark master possessing Maryze.
The idea of possession is not too far off from the meaning behind the song, which “personifies addiction as a destructive entity that creeps in and takes hold, becoming inescapable, as well as the loss of self,” Maryze says. There is a very possessive element when it comes to addiction, a feeling like you are not fully in control of yourself or your habits and desires.
Just like how the choice of black-and-white gives a stark visual contrast to the video, so does the choice of opting to give a song with bright, catchy pop melodies so many horror elements. There’s sometimes too much horror that exists solely for shock value; the “Squelettes” video revels in the fun of witchcraft and demonic possession.
Watch the video for “Squelettes” below and be sure to listen to Maryze’s and Backxwash’s music on your preferred platform.