Foie Gras Is a Dark, Dreamlike ‘Devotee’
Hark! A West Coast necromancer approaches, carried aloft on an ominous, gale-whipped storm cloud. Iphigenia Douleur is her government name, but her fellow children of the night know her as Foie Gras — the Seattle-based, Bay-begotten auteur behind some of the most beautiful sonic nightmares of recent memory (including several releases under the Bad Kisser moniker). As expected for a self-described drone project, Foie Gras' gospel of deathly love puts a heavy emphasis on leaden, guitar-driven doom, but there's plenty of color seeping into her grayscale palette. All it takes is one listen for the synesthesia to set in: Americana, woozy pastels à la Stereolab, even a neon burst of synth-pop now and again. Indeed, Douleur's discography scans as the textbook definition of New Romantic, emphasis on the "new."
While we're on the topic of all things breaking, Douleur has just unveiled a stunning track titled "Devotee," her first output as Foie Gras' since 2014's Held LP. The darkened psychedelic delight — which the artist described to Noisey as a reflection on "how to suffer beautifully, like Saint Sebastian" — arrives accompanied by a haunting, dimly lit visual directed by Nedda Afsari and Kristin Cofer. It's a real stunner; watch it below.