Meanjin/Brisbane rock outfit Semantics have shared the second preview of their forthcoming debut album, ‘Paint Me Blue’, a tearing new tune titled ‘This Love Could Kill You’.
One of the band’s more poignant offerings, it sees them address themes of domestic violence, aiming to raise awareness for potential red flags and implore listeners to ask themselves, “Are we paying attention?”
In a press release shared alongside the song, Semantics noted that according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, two in five Australians experience domestic violence from age 15.
‘This Love Could Kill You’ arrives with a striking video directed by Luke Dunning, which follows a young woman (played by Grace Dickie) as she navigates her own escape from an abusive relationship. It comes with a trigger warning for depictions of domestic violence, and can be seen below:
Explaining why Semantics explored the themes present on ‘This Love Could Kill You’, frontman Callum Robinson said in a statement: “We sadly have multiple friends who have been victims of domestic violence and abuse.
“The perspective in this song switches between the victim and the friend as we investigate abuse. The goal is to shed light on red flags we wished we had seen as friends of these victims and hopefully bring attention to the disturbing frequency of these relationships.
“The subject matter is sensitive, and it’s really hard to connect artistically as an outsider to these events, but as most people fall in the outsider ratio, it’s important to us to bring these signs to the forefront and ask the question, are we paying attention? We hope the song connects from an angle we haven’t been exposed to enough ourselves.”
‘This Love Could Kill You’ marks the second track released from ‘Paint Me Blue’, after lead single ‘Get In The Car’ landed last month. The album itself it will be out on May 20 via SideOneDummy/Cooking Vinyl.