“Nails pressed through beggars hands.“
Renowned for their enigmatic allure, post-hardcore luminaries Static Dress are known for weaving secrets and puzzles into their art. From the start, frontman Olli Appleyard has framed Static Dress as more than just a band—it’s a comprehensive art form that spans music videos, packaging, social media, and an immersive online presence. In this article, we explore the intricate world they’ve crafted.
Before diving in, it’s essential to note a recent revelation: Appleyard confirmed that the band’s music videos and lyrics are interconnected, contrary to his earlier statements that they were separate. This came to light with the release of “Di-sinTer (Glitter Redux)”, whose significance we’ll examine later.
Now, let’s enter the dark, captivating world of Static Dress.
TBC and Prologue (Comic Book Soundtrack)
We are first introduced to the story with the release of Prologue and its accompanying comic book, which narrates the chilling tale of Emile and Nancy, a couple whose toxic relationship wreaks havoc. The EP opens with a car crash, followed by Nancy’s cries as Emile pulls her from the wreckage and leads her to a nearby diner. The first track, “disposable care”, bursts in with high energy, hinting at events leading up to their arrival and foreshadowing a dangerous plan between the couple. Nancy seems hesitant, but she follows Emile out of love.
The instrumental track “The Spare Key in the Back” gives a brief respite, featuring the sound of a payphone being dialled, which the comic reveals Nancy is using. In “Sober Exit(s)”, we’re taken inside the diner where Emile’s plan unfolds: Nancy flirts with a patron, Emile assaults him, and then stabs him to death. Nancy steals the man’s car keys, exposing the act as premeditated, with Nancy reluctantly playing her part in Emile’s scheme.
Nancy’s perspective is central in the lyrics, highlighting her conflicting emotions. She recognizes Emile’s destructiveness but remains drawn to him. This theme continues in “in this fake city” and “foreplay (is not my forte)”, where Nancy reflects on her past and her commitment to Emile despite the toll it takes on her.
The penultimate track, “Vague”, serves as a summary of the events, with Nancy realizing she cannot continue living this way. She’s overwhelmed by guilt and betrayal, questioning Emile’s love and contemplating her breaking point. The closing song, “to the hotel…”, sets the stage for the next release, Rouge Carpet Disaster, showing the couple escaping in a stolen car and burning down the diner to cover their tracks.
This EP introduces us to Emile and Nancy and sets up the turmoil of their relationship, paving the way for the story to fully unfold in the band’s debut album, Rouge Carpet Disaster.
Rouge Carpet Disaster
Before diving into the album, it’s worth noting an exclusive early release for fans: the first 1,500 vinyl copies of Rouge Carpet Disaster included a printed lyric booklet with added lore, hotel floor plans, and hidden details, helping to piece together the album’s narrative.
Rouge Carpet Disaster picks up right where the EP left off, with the track “Fleahouse” opening with Appleyard’s fierce roar, following Emile’s “Don’t scream” from the EP’s closer. Most of the album unfolds from Emile’s perspective, detailing his arrival at Hotel Disdain. From the outset, we learn that Emile is alone, and a hotel caretaker spotted him frequently stopping with Nancy in the passenger seat. The chilling implication: Emile has killed Nancy.
The booklet confirms this, as the caretaker notes Nancy’s absence and Emile’s unusually heavy bag. The lyrics reflect Emile’s guilt and inner turmoil, questioning whether his relationship with Nancy was ever real love or just a fleeting affair. Emile struggles to confront the consequences of his actions, expressing his burden with the line, “It’s too much for me.”
The track “sweet.” serves as a bridge between the EP and the album, offering a flashback to Emile and Nancy’s final moments during their drive post-arson. Initially included on the TBC CD, this song guides us through Nancy’s last moments, revealing a tumultuous love-hate relationship on the verge of collapse. The lyrics suggest that Nancy intended to end things, with the line “And you’re thinking of leaving, when I’m kicking and screaming” highlighting Emile’s violent reaction. The words “there’s no chance to say goodbye” confirm Nancy’s death was impulsive and unplanned, a tragic end to their chaotic story.
In “Push Rope”, Emile grapples with the reality of his actions. Despite references to “her” in the present tense, suggesting he might be hallucinating or in denial about Nancy’s death, he engages with this vision of her. Lyrics like “I know I’m not wanted here, dead response and cold replies” imply he is conversing with an imagined Nancy, reflecting his struggle to accept her absence. The track also hints at ongoing substance abuse, with Emile using drugs to numb his emotions.
This is followed by “Attempt 8”, which delves into themes of self-harm and suicide. The line “I never got a chance to say goodbye, time stops in each day” reveals Emile’s shift from guilt to self-pity and his longing for Nancy. The track portrays his inner conflict and suicidal thoughts, culminating in a resignation to his inability to change the past and a need to move forward. The booklet reveals that the hotel caretaker is trying to drown out the events with loud music, but Emile is aware of this and, after coming to terms with his guilt, heads towards the caretaker’s room.
The aggression in “Courtney, Just Relax” and “Di-sinTer” contrasts with the previous introspection. In “Courtney, Just Relax”, Emile brutally kills the caretaker with a hammer, the lyric “Clenching final moments, Stealing the air you breathe” indicating the caretaker’s suffering as Emile continues to strike him after the initial blow. “Di-sinTer” then shifts to Emile disposing of both Nancy and the caretaker’s bodies, with lyrics like “bodies beneath, the ground breaking” supported by the booklet, which details their burial in the hotel’s garden. Emile views this act as a form of closure, but King Yosef’s verse reveals that the burial is anything but respectful, performed in a careless manner.
“Contort, bend
Scratch, getaway
Rip the tape
Staple face
Bodies mark our scattered grave
Humiliate me
Thrown in led footed, no looking back
My impact makes no sound”
Emile’s disregard for the deceased is starkly evident in how he has buried the bodies. Instead of a respectful burial, he has simply tossed them into a pit beside the car park, showing a profound lack of remorse for his actions.
In “such.a.shame”, Emile’s descent into self-pity continues as he isolates himself in the hotel’s bar. The house special he orders exacerbates his erratic behaviour, which is reflected in the lyrics. He fluctuates between self-loathing and justifying his actions as an “ugly moment”, even contemplating drowning himself.
This sense of despair deepens in “…Maybe!!?”, where Emile contemplates his own death as a means to erase his past actions. The lyric “fitting broken pieces again” suggests that this self-destructive thinking is a recurring theme for him.
“Lye Solution” further illustrates Emile’s growing despair. The track opens with “Pray the sky falls, for maybe that’d be easier”, showcasing his wish for an end to his suffering. Despite this, he acknowledges that escaping his guilt is impossible, viewing his desire for escape as a mere coping mechanism.
Emile’s struggle is compounded as he deals with haunting visions. The booklet reveals that he disposes of Nancy’s belongings in the hotel’s theatre, trying to avoid suspicion. This act, along with the line “Driving through a harsh reality, Crashing cars just to feel something”, raises the question of whether the initial crash was a premeditated scheme by Emile. The repetition of “your control won’t stop you bleeding” underscores the notion that, despite his efforts, Emile cannot escape his guilt.
The track “Welcome In” solidifies Emile’s deteriorating mental state. He takes sedatives to numb himself, leading to delirium and hallucinations. The booklet describes him stumbling into the lobby, discovering a hidden door slightly ajar, behind which are 12 faceless figures dancing. This eerie imagery, with light seeping through torn wallpaper, reflects Emile’s fractured psyche and sets the stage for further unravelling of his mental state.
Repeated references are made to substance abuse; Emile often does this, but it is implied that typically the drugs he is taking do not have this effect on him. At one point in the song, we can see that Emile is searching for forgiveness for his actions, with him being “Cradled the floor until she’d take him back…”. He is being consumed by remorse to the point at which his normal means of escapism are only exacerbating that guilt.
“Marisol” serves as a poignant conclusion to Emile’s storyline, reflecting on Nancy’s feelings towards him and Emile’s own realisations. The lyrics “Fix your disease, Leave in a cardboard box, Syringe induced dreams” express regret and reproach, signalling that Emile is beginning to understand the gravity of his actions. The line “For when you fall asleep, lips turn to stone, empty-handed and alone” conveys Emile’s profound sense of emptiness and isolation following Nancy’s death.
The final verse of “Marisol” references events from the Prologue EP, bringing the story full circle. Emile’s realization of his overthinking and feelings of falling are captured in “Before I have to leave, Tears gravitate and your cold surface speaks, Dying on a payphone, Sleeping rough in the car”, showcasing his desperation and vulnerability. Overall, the track encapsulates Emile’s remorse, loneliness, and the impact of his actions, tying back to his emotional journey.
“Cubicle Dialogue” acts as a closing credits theme for Rouge Carpet Disaster, ending on a cliffhanger. Emile appears to be confronting his actions with the line “Stop acting undercover, there’s no need to hide from this,” indicating a move towards self-acceptance. The outro references the pre-Prologue track “Safeword” with “From the twenty-third floor, past the second-story window”, suggesting Emile is contemplating jumping from a ledge to escape his inner demons.However, Emile does not jump, as evidenced by the spoken word section at the track’s end: “Two steps from the edge, I need to get back down. I’m so close to being free, why would I stop now?” followed by the sound of a door closing. This implies that Emile realizes he must continue his journey toward freedom and redemption. The track leaves listeners with anticipation, setting the stage for what might come next in Emile’s quest.
Music Videos
During the writing of this article, new insights from Appleyard’s Twitter confirmed that the music video plotline is indeed connected to the lyrical plotline. Previously, connections between the two had been ambiguous, with only a few videos providing clear evidence of this link.
The most significant connections are found in the music videos for “such.a.shame” (both original and redux), “Di-sinTer” (original and redux), and “Courtney, Just Relax”. The original “such.a.shame” video notably features an animation of Hotel Disdain’s elevator ascending, suggesting a link to the narrative.
A popular fan theory, “The Experiment Theory,” proposes that the music videos represent various experiments, with different versions of Appleyard as test subjects and each room as a testing chamber. This theory was partly confirmed by Appleyard during a Twitch livestream, though he suggested it remains speculative.
We propose an extension of this theory: Appleyard in the music videos is actually portraying Emile, with each room in the videos corresponding to a room within Hotel Disdain. There are two potential interpretations:
1. Supernatural Hotel: Hotel Disdain might be a supernatural location, akin to The Stanley Hotel in The Shining.
2. Psychiatric Hospital: Hotel Disdain could be a psychiatric facility where Emile is a patient following the car crash. This would mean the entire story might be a product of Emile’s imagination.
The psychiatric hospital theory seems more convincing. Emile’s hallucinations, such as seeing faceless people and Nancy’s ‘ghost,’ align with this idea. Evidence supporting this includes:
- In the “such.a.shame – Smoking Lounge Redux” video, Emile appears in a hospital gown with dark circles around his eyes, amidst distorted figures, suggesting either a side effect of medication or a growing realisation of his situation.
- The “Di-sinTer Glitter Redux” video shows Emile being medicated with a glittery substance and an electronic circuit implanted, along with a disfigured version of Appleyard observing via a CRT TV. This video also introduces CCTV shots, previously used in promotional materials, which support the idea of monitoring and experimentation.
- The phrase “we were just set up for those observe”, hidden in earlier promotional materials, aligns with the theory of experimental testing in different rooms.
While this theory remains speculative, it is intriguing. It posits that Appleyard/Emile is in a facility and beginning to realise his situation.
Upon the release of Rouge Carpet Disaster: The Game, the band has all but confirmed that this theory is correct. The game, which follows the plotline of the album, follows Emile (represented by Appleyard in the music videos) as he works his way through various lab-like facilities and hotel rooms. Without spoiling the game for those who have not played, we can confirm that both the hotel and lab-like facilities are the same entity, and that the existence of multiple Emile’s represented throughout the music videos appears to be a product of cloning being undertaken within the lab. What is still unclear, however, is how the Emile we come to know across the album ties in. Did Nancy ever exist, or was this all part of the lab’s nefarious testing?
Post-Rouge Carpet Disaster
Following their November 2023 UK headline tour, the band teased further lore expansion. During the tour, a new and intense interlude track was debuted. Previously only available to owners of the limited How I Hurt Myself cd, the lyrics of this track detailed below, suggest a narrative continuation of the Prologue/Rouge Carpet Disaster storyline, likely from Nancy’s perspective.
Still learning? Aren’t we all?
A sorry kept promise of self control
The trigger
You are the chamber
And the sorry fact I still can’t remember
You used me when my mind didn’t work
You took my body for its parts
As you knew my heart just couldn’t hurt
Fragile to the touch
Blacked out for 3 weeks
My last attempt wasn’t enough
Dare to see the art I’ve made
Decorated my wrists as a form of escape
A reminder of every failed attempt
Every mark that you leave is a monument
I don’t blame you for this
I won’t blame you for this
I just blame him and everything he’s done
This interlude tracks appears to delve deeper into Nancy’s troubled state, shedding light on the couple’s dynamics and her awareness of Emile’s detrimental influence. The lyrics reflect her mental anguish, self-harm, and substance abuse.
Following the tour, a new single “Crying” was then released. Once more, this track seemingly implies that Nancy is, in fact, alive, or at least a version of her is. Perhaps she too was cloned within the facility and experimented upon, this is yet to become clear. One thing that does appear to many fans as being clear though, is that the track is written from her perspective, specifically surrounding her recollection of what Emile had done to her being shared with the public.
Crying on the big screen
Remembering everything you did to me
Just lie to my face, “It was years ago”
Taken it all ‘cus you lost control
And now, I’m crying on the big screen
Closing thoughts
The Static Dress universe continues to intrigue with its elaborate storytelling. The evolving narrative raises many questions: What lies ahead for Emile? Will the story progress in the next release? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: the journey is far from over.
As we await further developments, the story continues to unfold with complexity and anticipation. The future direction of the plot remains unclear, and a public release date for new material is yet to be announced. One thing is certain, though – this journey promises to be an extraordinary ride!
A special thank you to Anthony Ward for his assistance on the research and direction of this article. Without you this would not have been possible.
Rouge Carpet Disaster (Redux) is out now via Roadrunner Records, and you can find the record here.