The Secret Storm – “The Dragon” (video) (premiere)

Led by singer-songwriter Lauren Hoffman, Virginia band the Secret Storm help Hoffman ditch her indie pop past for something darker and more mysterious on their new EP The Dragon. If anything, the sultry new video for the title track hammers that point home even more, a murky slice of art rock accentuated by electric violin and Hoffman’s distinct persona.

“’The Dragon’ is a song that I wrote a long time ago, but felt self-conscious about for a while,” Hoffman explains. “Now that I’m exploring the weirder and darker side of my sound, it finally feels right.”

And as for the video? “The burlesque theme might seem random, but it was inspired by a combination of my friend Deepa Dejour being a beautiful dancer, and the line ‘You’re a tease, I’m a flirt’, which meant something different in the lyrics but i like that it was a bridge to a new metaphor.”

The Dragon will be released on 4 December.