Photo by Alex Mctigue

We don’t need to be martyrs to suffering or prisoners of our own pain at the end of the day. “Once you know you’re in control”, Mary Jane Dunphe reminds us on “Always Gonna Be the Same” – the latest preview from the multi-factted punk and experimental pop scene songwriter’s forthcoming debut solo effort, Stage of Love – and from there on out, you understand that there are ways to release yourself from it all. In turn, the listen is a spectacular oddity of synth-pop in constant evolution where colors and shapes form, move, and burst in response to any stagnation. “It’s always gonna be the same / Until you let it go,” Dunphe sings in its chorus. What is blocking your ability to do so may not be on board with that, but you also don’t need its permission. That sense of choosing freedom opens up an entirely new worldview, and in Dunphe’s case, a boundless sonic exploration with it.

Directed by: Ewelina Rosinska & Mary Jane Dunphe

Mary Jane Dunphe’s Stage of Love will be released August 25th on Pop Wig.