With every description of herself, PACKS’ vocalist Madeline Link seems to be decomposing from the inside out. “Clingfilm” is a haunting track born from the haunted. Scarred from her previous relationship, Link is in turmoil, but presenting a packaged, sterilized, overly serene while still slightly unhinged version of herself to new potential suitors — an exhausting and miserable pursuit.
The new music video for the track shows the band frolicking in the park, on the playground, and dancing through the streets in a beer-induced haze under the red glow of the city lights. Dressed like extras in a country scene from Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, I wonder if it’s too much of stretch to say this is a play on the album title, Take the Cake. Link’s smile spreads widely across her face, seeming to stop before it reaches her eyes as she sings, “I’m rotten from the inside out,” staring the viewer down as if she’s just let them in on a secret and challenging them to find out if it’s true. The track has a grungey feel to it — fueling the nostalgia of similar alcohol-induced, lovesick nights wandering through the streets hoping that this external stimulus will provide a necessary salve for the razor sharp wounds slashing your insides apart. In a lot of ways, what Link is singing about is horrifying. There’s a strange comfort in that, though. The harshness of this reality and knowing that it’s shared is comforting. Suffering is inevitable, but it’s always nice to know you’re not alone in it.
“Clingfilm” is off PACKS’ debut record ‘Take the Cake’ out now via Fire Talk Records/Royal Mountains.
