The latest song from Britain's moody dream pop group Daughter is a clever play on identity and purpose in a cruel world. The name, "Numbers," refers both to the things that leave us feeling numb and the callous ways people are often reduced to faceless, nameless figures.
As the video for "Numbers" unfolds, a seductive woman slips into a red dress and prowls the city streets at night, searching for a man she's seen in a photograph. Along the way she blows smoke dismissively into the face of a street preacher, tosses a pack of lit matches onto a begging homeless man, offers only a glance to a injured woman sobbing on a park bench, and just stares, unblinking at a man choking at a restaurant.
"I feel numb," Daughter frontwoman Elena Tonra sings. "I feel numb in this kingdom."
"'Numbers' was written in the spring of 2014 in London, based on a scribbled poem I had written at the end of summer in 2013," Tonra told us via email. "The song describes a lack of emotional connection towards other people — how it feels to not feel anything at all."
The video for "Numbers," directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, ends with a murderous twist as the woman, played by English actress Natasha O'Keeffe, finds who she's looking for and mysteriously drains the life from him.
"Numbers" is from the upcoming sophomore full-length from Daughter, Not To Disappear, due out Jan. 15. It's the second song we've heard from the album. You can hear the first cut, "Doing The Right Thing," on All Songs Considered.
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