Although the Crystal Catles song, called Untrust Us, was released over 15 years ago, public interest in it has awakened now. Like many songs of the past years, it has become a trend on TikTok and other platforms where short videos are posted. The meaning of the song can hardly be understood. Let’s try to figure out what the authors wanted to say in such a non-trivial work.
About the artist
The song Untrust Us was performed by the Crystal Catles, known as the author of experimental electronic music. The group began its existence in 2006 and quickly won recognition in certain circles of listeners. The group lasted 11 years and during this time managed to release four studio albums, as well as several small collections, a considerable number of singles and remixes.
Musicians Alice Glass and Ethan Cat began with music of a very unusual sound. It is to the early period of creativity that the song we are considering belongs. The first compositions received a wide public response. They caused conflicting sensations in many listeners due to their very aggressive or chaotic sound. In the future, the group moved more and more towards music that can be appreciated not only by lovers of something specific, but also by ordinary listeners.
In 2017, the team disbanded. Not without a scandal: Alice accused Ethan of harassment and psychological pressure, which continued throughout the existence of the group. Kat, having enlisted the support of a lawyer, immediately wrote a refutation of these words. He sued the girl for libel, but the lawsuit was dismissed. On whose side the truth is, no one, except the participants themselves, knows to this day.
The music of Crystal Catles continues to be popular all over the world. The band’s discography has a variety of songs, among which everyone can find those that will appeal to them.
What is the song about
The lyrics of the song are written in English and Spanish. However, even those who are fluent in them almost never fully understand the words: some people think that the song sounds in Japanese. Opening the text of the composition, you can see that it consists of two repeated lines: “Cocaine is bad for your health. There is nothing good about cocaine for you.” It is difficult to characterize the tone with which these lines are sung alternately by Alice and Ethan. They seem to be deprived of any share of human participation.
The chant is accompanied by a very frightening melody, which grows in intensity at the beginning of the composition. However, despite some melody, it is even difficult to call it music. The playing of the instruments only enhances the overall dark feeling that the song brings.
Thus, the song Untrust Us (the title translates as “Do not trust us”) has a very negative effect on the listener. What did Alice and Eaton want to show by this? The very first interpretation that comes to mind after reading the text is that this is a kind of approach to explaining a simple truth: the use of drugs is scary for a person and society.
The song seems to paint before us the reverse side of the “high” that a person gets when using psychogenic drugs. It is possible that in this way the performers conveyed a feeling of fear and despair, that confusion of consciousness that inevitably occurs in people with severe addiction.
social media trend
In recent weeks, platforms for posting short videos (TikTok, YouTube, VK clips, etc.) have begun to actively post videos of the following format. Something frightening is depicted on the top (photo, drawing or video). And at the bottom – quickly replacing each other images with the characters of the FNAF game and the so-called “screamers” (frightening faces of figures resembling people). All of this is accompanied by a slightly sped-up excerpt from Untrust Us.
For example, in one of the numerous videos of this kind, the viewer can see how, when performing paired elements in figure skating, an athlete accidentally decapitates a partner with a sharp skate. This is a staged shot taken from the comedy film Blades of Glory: Stars on Ice. It is obvious that the presented is impossible from a physical point of view. But an unprepared viewer (especially a child or teenager) combined with the scary music and images below may be shocked.
Social media algorithms work in such a way that such videos (they are usually not labeled as intended for adults) can be caught even by those who have never looked for anything like this. Few of us would like to stumble upon this at night. What can be done to minimize the likelihood of seeing this? First, you need to set up your preference feed. Secondly, if you come across a scary video, delete it from your viewing history, otherwise there is a risk that something similar will start to flicker in the feed.
Conclusion
The song Untrust Us can be described as a kind of psychedelic. Most likely, it contains the author’s interpretation of the idea of the harmful effects of narcotic drugs on the consciousness, health and life of a person.
