Hurts 'Sunday' Symbolism and Exile Preview

20 December 2012



I'm very excited to welcome and hear the new album by Hurts titled 'Exile', which is released on the 11th March 2013. Their last album 'Happiness', is a huge favourite of mine and the same goes for the band itself. In terms of my taste in music, I often find myself drawn to provocative music as I enjoy disputing the meanings behind a song with myself and others. One of the greatest feelings to experience in life is love and the anguish caused by heartbreak which is why they always make for great songs. However, I often find these songs a little cliché as these songs in particular are mass produced by the music industry, probably because they sell the best. Money aside, I had yet to hear a song about the woes of every day life, like rising energy prices or industrial global impact...that is until my favourite band Muse created a song about the sustainability of raw materials and energy. I digress, I found an instant connection with Hurts, not only through the beautiful yet haunting vocals of the Mancunian duo but through their lyrics and videos.


One video in particular titled 'Sunday', fascinated me and had me searching high and low for the meaning behind it. Eventually, I discovered it was a modern day interpretation of the Ancient Greek 'Orpheus & Eurydice' myth in which Theo is Orpheus, the woman whom appears in the video is Eurydice and Adam is Hades. Basically, the myth is that Orpheus's wife Eurydice dies. He is able to retrieve his wife by going into the underworld so long as he manages not to look back when he leaves which he unfortunately does, therefore losing her forever.

In the video you can see an array of beautiful instruments being played, these are what make the music that "softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone". This music allows Theo and the woman to get back to the upper world but they can't look back until they reach this upper world. Unfortunately, Theo comes across a mirror and as a consequence, looks back into the underworld and loses his wife forever.

The whole affair of not looking back spans the entirety of the video; mirrors feature above the car crash in the beginning of the video, a framed mirror takes the place of the woman in the arms of Theo after the crash, a mirror appears in the underworld which Theo looks at, the women playing the instruments in the underworld keep placing their hands over their eyes, the road sign by the car crash says "DON'T LOOK BACK" in Russian-style lettering, and the word 'MIRRORS' is spelt out in Russian letters at the very beginning of the video.

Also, Adam is seen in the car wearing a badge with an electricity symbol for 'Earth Ground' which is described by Wikipedia as "a common return path for electric current, or a direct physical connection to the Earth" which could be an analogy for the underworld and upper world. When Adam touches the badge for the first time, Theo enters the underworld and the second time, Theo leaves the underworld. Other important connections to the myth include the jackals which represent Anubis whom is the Egyptian god of the dead and the Russian car in the beginning which is a Volga - also a river in Russia which could have a connection to the River Styx, the river one must cross to get to the underworld.

This video is truly one of a kind and something that brings a lot more depth to the song. It also gives a good representation of the artistic ability of this band.

The trailer for Exile is dark and features a bald woman holding something in her arms with nothing on but a piercing expression. She has an eye tattooed onto her chest which could signify many different things including The Illuminati and New World Order, a popular conspiracy theory. Panning out from this woman, we see two formally dressed boys, a live puppet with a sack over their head, a stormy fight between the boys and men of different ages, the boys whom are now two cleanly dressed young men, an S&M scene, a presumably dead body and Theo and Adam whom in hindsight, were being represented at different ages in the form of the two boys. The trailer is short but chilling, making the excitement for the new album even greater. The song that features in the trailer is called The Road and is already available to download. I have already purchased my ticket for the upcoming Manchester gig, however - I do not know as of yet whether the infamous Richard the opera singer will be joining them on tour.

5 comments:

  1. Hi. Thanks for explaining the meaning behind these videos. Hurts are amazing. Their songs are totally different from those mainstream love songs. I came across another symbol of theirs which is the two crosses symbol. Could you unravel the meaning of this too? Is it something to do with Christianity? I like Muse. My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds To Mars are great bands too. You should check them out.

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    1. Is this to do with the recent Miracle video? I heard there were burning crosses in that video but it had to be removed due to controversy. I never got to see it sadly. I like MyChem and 30 too :)

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  2. Amazing interpretation and explanation! :) Can you write something about song 'The Crow'? I think it's really symbolic and everyone can hear something different in it. I'm curoius about your opinion. :)

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    1. Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll definitely try and interpret The Crow for you and share it with you! Keep an eye out for it :)

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  3. That's great! I'll be waiting :)

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