At this point in the year, I would say that Julia Holter’s Ekstasis is my favorite LA based release of 2012, thus far. It’s so interesting and complicated and slightly ugly but beautiful and very, very unexpected. Holter also is incredibly mysterious (to me, at least) and I can’t quite put my finger on what she’s all about, not that it really matters. That being said, her new video for “Our Sorrows” adds to the mystery surrounding her which, although moody and nebulous, totally fits into her vibe.

The video sees Holter performing an extended ritualistic act that includes tying people together and consecrating (“consecrating”) a bowl of water and binding a bus, trees, and herself together through a mauve string. She wanders around the city, rides the bus, walks around a park, all with the string in hand which she ties to herself and the environment. It’s abstract without being abstract and is kind of about nothing–but is it? I’m sure it has to do with the act of bringing people together, especially with the nature and the title of the song being “Our Sorrows.”

The song itself is good, one of the stronger tracks from the release. It balances her weirder moments with her more accessible moments and–paired with the video–is certainly complicated. Take a few minutes and watch the video. If it doesn’t click for you (it’s still clicking for me), don’t worry as you’ll at least be able to see what the top commenter points out: “Julia Holter is such a babe.”