From AC/DC and Rick Springfield to Tame Impala and Tash Sultana, Aussie rock-n-roll has brought us some greats. Not only is upcoming Oz-rock star and former Miss Australia Cleo Alexandra a student of these acts, she’s also their collaborator. In 2019 she released her self-titled debut album Cleo Alexandra that reimagined hits from the land down under, bringing a haunting touch of realism and grit to the classics. The album even featured a cameo from Rick Springfield on a devilish reimagining of the Men Down Under’s “Who Can It Be Now.” Garnering an international audience, she continues to release hits produced alongside 6-time Grammy-winning producer Keith Olsen and J.J. Faris.
In Cleo Alexandra’s new single “Taken By Desire,” we find the young artist wading into some new melodic territory. Her haunting melody draws on hints of RnB influence as she coos out her desperation and confusion surrounding an unfaithful lover. Behind her mounting anger, a fiendish arrangement of guitar struts, bass drum booms, and harrowing bells construct an atmosphere of wrathful reckoning for her former lover. The desolation mounts as Cleo layers leitmotifs until the track slowly fades back into the darkness.
In a dizzying back-and-forth of grain-filtered imagery, the video for “Taken By Desire” juxtaposes desire with rage. Director Harrison Woodhead captures Cleo caught between yearnings for her former lover as she rolls in anticipation on their bed, only to be whipped back into a dark alley of despair where she screams out her agony of betrayal. Interspersed with footage from the studio recording, we see Cleo can’t help but sing with passion no matter the performance space. If you’re in the ruts of relationship woes, know you’re not alone—and let Cleo Alexandra be the microphone to your fury.
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