In some ways, Vanita Joines’ new EP, A Dangerous Game, is a natural expansion from her work on her previous release, Fiction. Therein, the singer-songwriter honed-in on her vision of crafting an enveloping atmosphere with her music whilst getting to the humanistic point of it all in her earnest delivery and lyricism. On the other hand, A Dangerous Game takes its cues more from the cinematic realm; like Andrew Bird’s Pulaski at Night, the three-part EP is a movement. Each track offers itself to the next as the continuation of a story, engaged in classical influence throughout.
The focal point of the work is Joines’ titular piece, nestled at the EP’s center. Its music video, directed by Joe Gomez, showcases Joines delivering the piece with contemplative focus. Feeling pervades the track and performance, but some of its emotional power comes from what she is able to hold in. She further captivates through the visual perspective present here, flush with subtly powerful imagery. It’s a pensive performance from an engaging storyteller.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdLsrgp3nOc[/embedyt]Joines tells For Folk’s Sake, “This music video is all about ‘coming to the table’ as it were and admitting that love is not all it seems. Love is patient, love is kind. Love is dangerous. But we all still show up to play the game again and again. The set design begins with a feast of food and drink, and ends with an empty table. This imagery mirrors the idea of losing pieces of yourself in love. And the last shot, an act of defiance in the face of this loss.”
Words by: Jonathan Frahm