Into the cave of crumbling gold out october 8th
future unknown
CLAVVS have released a brand new lead single “Future Unknown” and announced their forthcoming album Into the Cave of Crumbling Gold, coming October 8 via their label Turn to Wind. “Future Unknown” begins as a soft, twinkling lullaby, before building into a massive onslaught of buzzing bass and reverberating synths. Amber Renee’s vocals float over the music as she leads us down into her dark vision of the future. The imagery is dystopian and eery, hinting at climate disaster, violence, and the effects of a failing system.
Renee offers, “This song is about sharing a planet with people who value power more than their own survival. Our systems are killing us slowly, and we know it. But we’re all still marching further and further into a future we can’t undo. We've doubled down on a bad bet. It’s a song about how powerless I feel over the state of the world.
I wrote it in late 2024 in a time where I felt particularly betrayed by people I love who chose this future for us. Try as I might, I can't force them to see things differently. I can’t change them. We’re all just chained together, headed further into a dark and scary place.”
Producer and multi-instrumentalist Graham Marsh adds, “Early on in the writing process, Amber shared this song , and I thought it was beautiful. We wanted to give it a big dynamic range, a super soft verse that transitioned into a chorus that takes your head off. That kind of jarring juxtaposition really complemented the lyrics Amber wrote. Unlocking this song gave us a roadmap for the rest of the project and became the thesis for the album.”
Dark Age
“Dark Age” is a pop song for techno feudalist peasants. Put simply, it’s a song about the current moment. Perhaps a bit grim, it’s also devilishly catchy, as is CLAVVS’ signature. Percussive flute meets rhythmic bongos as Amber Renee’s soft vocals float above.
The video for “Dark Age” is a clever reenactment of the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck. Amber transforms into various characters from the deck, like the Fool and the Hanged Man, to tell the story of the song. All the sets are hand made, painted by Amber herself. Each frame is carefully curated to pay homage to the original artwork.
About the song, Amber says, “‘It felt good to acknowledge a lot of what I’m feeling about the world in a more fun, upbeat way. We’re all just new medieval peasants, living through plagues and wars and chaos. But this era can’t last forever. I’m patiently awaiting the light at the end of the darkness.”