Fotoform reveal The City Is Over, the stark opening cut from their new full length, Grief is a Garden (Forever in Bloom), the follow-up to 2021’s critically lauded Horizons.
Directed by Erik Foster, the accompanying visual distills the track’s shadowy elegance into a moody, neo-psychedelic form.
The band’s Kim House unfolds on the song: “You didn’t notice much before. Misery is such a bore.
We live so much of our lives numbed and drained by the daily grind, serving up our time and energy – our existence – to sustain ourselves. It’s so easy to get stuck on autopilot, overwhelmed and too depleted to check in and (re)discover who we are and what we really want.
This City is Over” is a call to wake up from our sleepwalking and challenge ourselves to start living our truths, to listen to the voice within: “Follow the truth inside your soul.
This song (and much of the upcoming album) came in the wake of a series of personal (and professional) traumas and turning points. I left the only career I had known (in fashion) to try to find something more meaningful and sustainable (in all senses of the word) and, honestly, less toxic. The “city” in the song can represent capitalism and rampant commerce as well as the city itself: booming urban environments that sacrifice quality of life for profit.
We can’t always just drop everything and carve out an entirely new life, but we can start to peel back the layers, reflect and get in touch with ourselves. We can pull away from things that don’t serve us (if only through emotional distance – that counts, too) and shift our focus and energy to people, causes, actions, environments, creative outputs that resonate and align with our values and priorities.
We don’t have to wait for catastrophe to strike to start building anew and living more fully. We have so many answers inside us waiting to be discovered if we have the courage to look inside and step out of our often not-so-comfortable comfort zones (and challenge ourselves.) A life well lived is worth it though, don’t you think?”
ZR