“Look Alike” is a psychedelic, surreal dark synthwave song by Cupid Spell that serves as their debut single. A collaboration between a lovely couple, Josh Kreuzman and Mandy Buffington, done in honor of David Lynch, the visionary filmmaker who sadly passed earlier this year.
Lyrically and thematically, it’s heavily inspired by Lynch’s most popular work, the TV show Twin Peaks. It invokes surreal imagery of angels in the very first line. From my perspective, Cupid Spell explores mainly four ideas in the song’s lyrics: Duality, Duplicity, Dichotomy, and Love. Just as I wrote that, I found an amusing coincidence that these align with David Lynch’s initials. That might be my subconscious making connections. This song will definitely put you in that dream-like state.
Musically, it’s very trance-like. You just feel trapped inside, unable to move, dragged into introspection land as the haunting layers of bells and voices completely surround you. Samples of Lynch’s voice play intermittently throughout the verses. The steady groove keeps you grounded, but the repeated melodies and the surreal lyrics carry your mind outside of your body. I think David would have loved this song.
“Look Alike” emerges not just as Cupid Spell‘s inaugural offering, but as a personal meditation on identity and perception wrapped in Lynch’s signature dreamlike atmosphere. And transposing that to music is no small feat, which makes me excited for what Cupid Spell has planned for releases later this year.
