Premiere: CLEWS celebrate the success of their latest EP; share video for Cuban Heel

Since capturing our attention with their debut single Museum back in 2018, Sydney-via-Mollymook sister duo CLEWS have come a long way. In the last three years, Lily and Grace Richardson have found themselves amongst Australian indie-pop's upper echelon; an act synonymous with the brightness of the scene's current heavy-hitters and those that will undoubtedly have a place in its future, as the pairing continue to grow their sound and evolve their image in everything they put out.

This evolution is something that CLEWS strive for within their work, visible in the singles that have littered their journey all the way through to their latest EP Loveluck Omens, which with its arrival back in May, felt like a testament - or even a summary - of the duo's growth so early on, and the many sounds they've showcased that through as an exciting and multi-dimensional addition to Australian indie. "It's really not hard to understand the appeal of CLEWS," we said with their initial entrance way back, and all these years later, that sentence still rings remarkably true.

Loveluck Omens encapsulates the charm of CLEWS in a succinct four tracks, presenting their highest peaks sonically as the duo relish in their blooming confidence as both musicians and (more generally) people; Loveluck Omens being an EP full of romanticism, albeit not in the heart-eyes kind-of-way you'd expect. "As a woman, I have navigated so many ideas around companionship, sex, romance, self-worth, bodies and everything in between and these songs gather all my thoughts on the concept of 'love' that humans have been obsessed with since biblical times," said Lily with the EP's release.

Cuban Heel was a highlight amongst highlights on the record, capturing the infatuation central to the EP's core themes as well as the rich indie-rock sonics that underpin much of their sound. "Cuban Heel came out of a strange short story I wrote about a girl finding her life’s companion," says Lily, drawing meaning out of the vocals that dance amongst the hazy, yet indulgent production. "This song is about infatuation, so it suits that it came from a fictional story. I imagine a young girl falling in love with an older man but not knowing what to do with all her feelings."

Today, we're stoked to welcome the video for Cuban Heel, with its premiere on Pilerats today arriving as CLEWS continue to bask in the success of their latest EP, and the evolution captured within it. Directed by Maya Luana, the video hints at the soft, care-free romanticism that underpins much of the EP's meaning, doubling down on the single's rich sound through a visual lens, while also presenting the core idea of Cuban Heel through a different light.

"Cuban Heel is more of an imaginary story of young love than it is autobiographical, so we wanted the video to match this strange and surreal feeling," the duo say on the video. "Our director Maya Luana's take on the video was inspired by nights out in Sydney, running around the city young and carefree. This song is about the power love, lust and infatuation can have over you so Maya gave us magical powers in the video."

It's a brilliant time, and its arrival comes as CLEWS continue to step up. Loveluck Omens arrived only back in May, but since then, they've already released a new collaboration with HOLY HOLY, and we're sure there's more in the pipeline soon. In the meantime, take a dive into the video for Cuban Heel below, as it premieres right about now:

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