Blessed have released their outstanding and intricate album opener “Redefine”. It’s the second single from their forthcoming album Circuitous – a rich, moving and committed piece of work that expands on the band’s eclectic discography and confirms their mission to evolve on musicality, songwriting, performance and artistry.

Singer and guitarist Drew Riekman dives into the themes of “Redefine” – “The idea that we cannot disrupt the status quo only serves someone with power over us. It’s easy to feel that you’re never doing enough, that your mere existence in the face of crushing weights of the world isn’t an act of triumph in itself. We’re generally fed a narrative at this juncture that no one works hard enough, and your circumstances are your own fault exclusively. Being told that the only path forward is working 10 hour days, volunteering your labor to companies that make billions, and that you’ll one day be rewarded is a farce.” 

In their comprehensive artwork for Circuitous, artists Nathan Donovan and Jacob Dutton are teasing out a visual universe through a series of stills, images, and video shorts. The newest dispatch from this project is the visual accompaniment for “Redefine”, the second part in an animated diptych. A sister piece to the AI-inspired video for the album’s lead single, “Anything”, the short takes place in the same claustrophobic maze of corridors and doors, telling a different side of the story of the android protagonist.

Donovan and Dutton employ patience and minimalism to evoke mixed emotions in the viewer, who is observing the storyline as it slowly unfolds — now mediated through the perspective of security cameras and computers located in an eerie, nondescript office. The directors create brooding suspense through long, lingering shots that capture the monotony and banality of modern life. Given no hint to whether we see through the eyes of another — or a fly on the wall— the viewer is compelled to contemplate their own complicity in the story of the uncannily empathetic android. 

Photo Courtesy: Heather Saitz