THE BOX KILLED THE CAT

coworker who pissed me off the day before voluntarily helped me with a menial task that had complications caused by other departments interfering with our sample collection

coworker was unusually nice to me after she noticed she'd pissed me off with a statement

laughed a lot in a first-time conversation with her and her husband during lunch break

corpses of plums(?) on the ground in beautiful gradients of rich purple and pink with bright orange insides

a cool sandy-beige body of pebbles surrounding a faded bottle green lake

found another "flower field" at the park, this time with a "bug hotel"

drinking fancy hot chocolate next to a couple of alt artists discussing tunes with one singing entire pieces to the other

discovered a "flower field" designed to promote plant growth and attract pollinators as part of a new city initiative next to my building

overhearing two girls having an in-depth discussion during lunch break about a perfume that smells like basil and how incredible it is because basil is the ultimate spice

a bubble bath

SOMEWHERE ELSE - This seems like a familiar character's ways being "interrupted" by the appearance of a new place, where she's almost learning to walk for the first time again. I love the setting, amusement parks feel super playful and fun but then there's stuff that feels slightly off like Frankensteins, houses of mirrors and haunted houses. Everything is full of lights which works with the album's aesthetic perfectly. She seems to be enjoying herself even though the place isn't very popular with the crowd. Maybe they're cold, the place is very cold, we know because a Norwegian said so, so it's officially Cool™ (you'd never catch me there I'm super susceptible to frostbite). But then as she joins the club I'm drawn to the difference in elevation between her and Dj Tom orchestrating the scene and it makes me think of how we sometimes place our mind above our heart, so this character could also represent our emotions and empathy, and how it's important to have both in the room to have a good time.

I DRINK THE LIGHT - This is like the Cheshire cat to Cure For Me's Alice in Wonderland. I was halfway expecting the masked men from Cure For Me to appear around Aur/Ora as the lights flashed. When I first saw this it seemed pretty straightforward but there's actually a lot going on here and the best part is it lets your mind literally fill in the blanks. In the most basic sense this seems to be a character absorbing a plethora of sensory experiences. It looks like a person encountering a spaceship full of strange functions lighting up before their eyes in the best way. She seems very static and 'absent' at first but as the story progresses she is moved by the energy and becomes increasingly fluid and receptive, maybe even a bit dangerous, but never fully uncovered. It's cool how the light source is ambiguous, it could be the surroundings glowing or the entity. Gazing off to the side is such a cool little detail I didn't even notice at first. I also see it as a kind of meeting between creatures that use different tools to interact with the world and gradually begin to reveal themselves to each other, kind of as a sign of trust. It's cool how the viewer can either see themselves as the character or feel like they're interacting with her from the other side of the screen. The part with hands touching her face makes me think of that lovely sunny painting from Forgotten Love, but this looks like an inverse negative of the image which is really interesting. It even makes me think of specific lyrics from that song. It could be the person feeling her own face or it could be other entities (hopefully not the masked men). I feel like I could probably say more about this it just feels so rich for such a simple video concept and I think I love it a little more every time I see it.

WAVELENGTHS - This little guy reminds me of an eyeball. Or maybe it needs to hit the gym before its overgrown head tips it over? Has it sealed itself off? Is it looking out the window? Drinking the light? Is that a hallway reflected in its shiny dome? Does it lead somewhere deeper into itself? And what the hell is it standing on? Something not yet uncovered?

SIDE BY SIDE - Idk why but this song has an all-encompassing feeling like it could kind of relate to all of the characters and their stories in some way. So this is technically two objects, the car and the missing piece? Are they related, like a component of a larger mechanism? One feels small against the other? The individual part is burnt out but the car also seems like it can't go anywhere. Maybe it's about staying, for better or for worse. Or how we need each other to function. Or maybe it's meant to evoke a feeling of being so close yet so far from being a working system. Really not sure.

THE THING - This looks like it's related to the thingy from Wavelengths, it also makes me think of an eye. Someone called this an upside-down umbrella which was eye-opening (no pun intended). It makes me think of bat wings. I love the look of it it's like a weird little spider. Is it reaching for something? Or someone? Lovely colour scheme too, soft but kind of contrasted and dark too. Come to think of it, the aesthetic reminds me of Aur/Ora's fabulous outfit from the recent Bafta awards.

successfully survived the day entirely on my own at work with even the superiors gone

PLEASE - This is an interesting shot because the stairs make it feel very backstage, like stumbling down a rabbit hole (cat hole?), but the point of view is suggesting another entrance? And there's two light sources, or three? Is it multiple perspectives? Are we going down the drain? Did something crawl out of the drain? At first I thought that was smoke coming out but it looks more like steam? Something ominously warm and damp might be hiding in there. Maybe let's go up the stairs.

COME CLOSER - Beautiful lady on screen, no objections. I like how the moving light source turns the face into a clock, I feel like it adds a sense of urgency that's not inherently there in the song? And how the light seems to change her expressions. And I love how people's lashes look when light hits them like this, so expressive. And I just noticed how the light source's reflection in the eyes seems to be "orbiting" around the pupil like some sort of yin and yang star system, or a black hole, super cool. No idea what is happening in the flashes but something is really happening. Has the clock gone off, is this an alarm? Are we ascending? Being eaten alive by the siren? Sudden gunfire? Or maybe time feels like it's slowing down? No clue but I love the primal expressions and fluid hair movements, some really powerful imagery came out of this less-is-more package. The ending pose combined with the clock effect just makes me think of death, but did we die? Or did death die? Some really oomphy stuff going on here in between all the whimsy and fun.

A BOY LIKE YOU - Back with the steam again, is this a continuation of Please? I feel like this is what's been growing in the drain. Maybe it was smoke after all. Maybe where there's smoke there is fire. Think I see some nettle in there too, maybe stay back. Here we see the first of these strange little systems. Is it transmitting something? Is it receiving some signal? Is it like a back and forth thing or does it just like the sound of its own voice? Not sure but I feel like the smoke is worsening which might be clouding judgement.

RING THE ALARM - At first I saw this one way, but then based on some official statements this could actually be two different characters? This immediately struck me as people in power abusing the loyalty and support of their close associates and also just people in the entertainment industry doing provocative things for the sake of being provocative and seeking attention in a way that feels hollow and meaningless. But I guess it could also be seen in a good way - maybe breaking the monotony of the norm? Being playful without needing a reason? Or maybe just a call to shed light on/talk more about the issues mentioned.

MY BABY - So according to wiser people in the comments on yt this is a pink motherboard. Is it pink because it's related to the storyline of Ring the Alarm? Or the broader Tomora aesthetic in general? Has it suffered a burnout moment in the bathroom? Not a good place for electrical components but this one seems a bit stuck. Has it taken on too much load holding things together? It feels a little abandoned. I really like the grit and graininess of these visualisers, it gives it a softer organic feel.

Preparation

5 tsp/L, 100 deg, 5 min

Dry leaf

Fragrance - strong, opulent scent of orange, alluring and hypnotizing

Appearance - long, slender rolls of dark brown tea leaves interspersed with thin, orange-red threads of flower buds(?) and cream-coloured chunks with dentures like a honeycomb structure

Wet leaf

Fragrance - very vegetal and savoury with a roasted quality reminiscent of Taiwan Formosa, no more scent of orange

Appearance - long, stretched out, seaweed-brown tea leaves fading into vermillion strings mixed with fluffy, dark yellow chunks with no prominent honeycomb structure

Liquor

Fragrance - mild, savoury, vegetal smell with maybe a hint of freshness from the orange

Appearance - dark, reddish-brown in colour, like wooden furniture, relatively full-bodied

Taste - strong, bitter and spicy, with similar character to that of English Breakfast tea but lighter and with a touch of vibrancy and citrus freshness

Aftertaste - smooth, neutral, spicy and stimulating, not too drying

Feelings

Grounding

Stimulating

Refreshing

Thinking of

Chinese red

Halloween pumpkins and lanterns

the private chambers of an accomplished general

the treasure trove inside a pharaoh's tomb

gargoyles looming atop old cathedrals

navy evening skies

women in golden jewellery and champagne-coloured silk dresses at a private party

a cult entranced in the middle of a ritual

a king hunting large game deep in the forest

dancing naked

travelling by train hopping

villagers painting their doors with blood

the dance between the matador and the bull

a lavish feast in the name of Dionysus

the sparks of starting a gasoline fire

Conclusion

Likes

unusual flavour profile

stimulating

can be drunk cold

Dislikes

bitter taste

not enough distinguishing notes from the orange or other ingredients

feels too heavy

I would describe the tea as extravagant, mysterious, bold, ancient, magical and primal

Rating: 2.5/5

Additional notes: This is only slightly better than Seven Treasures for me. Still a very interesting blend, I like how the taste feels complex and has a moving effect on me. Unfortunately too heavy and bitter altogether for me.

P.S. I think I adjusted using less leaves/shorter steep time and it was definitely better but it takes some getting used to.

Buy again: no