Lola Marsh’s video for “Echoes” lives out a popular bookish fantasy bound by the sounds of surf-tango noir.
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Listen: “Echoes” – Lola Marsh
Where would you go if you were searching for some fantasy? The library, right? It’s true, the library’s fantasy section will indeed have a lot to offer if you’re in the mood for a dragon-y adventure. But what if we were looking for a different kind of fantasy. The kind of fantasy that would be inappropriate for children. The kind of fantasy that involves a lover or desire… Not so surprisingly, the answer is the same: The library.
For some of us, there is something intriguing about a quiet place full of mostly thoughtful people, all busy tracking down their interests. If your ideal person is studious, literate, or even just likes to read, it makes sense to think you might meet them in the library. In fact, according to Nadine Jessup of Society 19, (and anybody who has ever attended University of Wisconsin – Madison) Memorial Library made it to the top 10 places to hook up at UW Madison alongside all of this party school’s other hot spots. But here’s the thing, the library is not just on the list, it’s #1. Apparently, libraries are hot to more than just the erudite.
Perhaps that’s why Indie-pop duo Lola Marsh, set the video for their latest release, “Echoes” in a quiet, lofty, library of sorts. It fits perfectly with this intellectual beatnik style surf-tango noir. It also highlights a potential snag with snogging in the stacks. While it is pretty steamy to shoot longing glances at your bookish dream person from afar, if you actually want to connect with someone, you’re going to have to get up the nerve to speak to them … at some point.
The stars of this show, Lola Marsh, are Yael Shoshana Cohen (of The Voice Israel) and multi-instrumentalist Gil Landau. Originally from Tel Aviv, Israel they have been playing music together since 2013. It’s been 2 years since their last album, Remember Roses, so fans are ecstatic about “Echoes,” especially because it was released together with its ginchy, quirky, and almost romantic video.
Echoes and ghosts in my head
They are swimming in my bed
They’re not giving me a chance
I am here for no one
The video opens up with a view of an airy, quiet loft beset with two opposing desks. As the opening riff moves from wistful, almost melancholic guitar noir, to breathlessly raring Dick Dale style licks, we enter the room with Landau and Cohen as they seem to be walking confidently towards each other. But alas, they sit alone at their respective desks, fingering pages of books that seem to, sort of, interest them.
All the words that you said are alive
And I keep them on a page
Am I ever gonna change?
I should have gave them to someone
Watch “Echoes” – Lola Marsh
And then, through a space between his wall of books, Landau throws the first look and it hits with a zing. Cohen returns fire with a look of her own and as the song picks up the tempo, our hearts pound in sync with the drums as the couple throw caution to the wind and walk towards each other once again. It seems they are going to connect this time.
Where are you tonight?
Restless like a wolf in the night
Lighthouse in the dark
Where are you tonight?
And then the dancing starts. Keeping with their mod aesthetic, they move towards each other with the same kind of removed cool as Uma Thurman and John Travolta wore while twisting together at Jack Rabbit Slims. This was the best part of the shoot for the band. “Our director, Indy Hait, gave us the chance to finally show off our silly dance moves for the first time,” they explained in an interview with Eden Arielle Gordon for Pop Dust.
But alas, no matter how many cool shimmies or silly skitters this pair do to get close, they don’t reach each other this time either.
Perhaps the reason for these near misses is in the band’s explanation behind “Echoes’” meaning. According to their press release, “Echoes is about that feeling you sometimes have when you want to disappear, but at the same time, want to be found.”
“To be found.”
So, both of our longing lovers are passively waiting, in the sexy library, to be found. It is starting to make sense.
And I know that they won’t save me
From the voices in my mind
And I know that I can’t turn away and hide
From afar the bells are ringing
On the first day of my life
And the sound begins to shine on the lonely one
If all of the words he said are stuck on a page… nope, they won’t be able to unite our lovers from there. Perhaps if someone breaks their cool for a moment with a flirty word or even just a smile, a swinging summer connection could build.
However, at least in the world of this video, this connection is not to be. We’ll have to wait until Lola Marsh releases their next tune. Maybe someone will get up the nerve to break their silence by then. Until that happens, we are lucky to be able to shimmy and clap to “Echoes” and hopefully enjoy some summer connections of our own!
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