Swedish-American duo Flora Cash is living the extravagant life at a price in the video for their latest single “They Own This Town,” premiering exclusively on Billboard today (March 13).
In a video shot in two Swedish castles, the pop duo commands court over a series of striking scenes that sway between the surreal and the hyper-realistic. The visual, directed by Christofer Nilsson, is rife with symbolism from varying power dynamics, from the masked gunman standing over a makeshift koi pond in a literal “fish-in-a-barrel” situation to the parting quote delivered by a child warning that “our happiness is in your hands.”
“This is the most symbolic and artful video we’ve worked on to date,” the band tells Billboard. “We wanted to deliver a message to people that we felt was powerful but leave the final interpretation up to each viewer; it was a challenge to wrap so many layers of meaning into the video while also making sure that it wasn’t confusing or cluttered.”
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Each shot is so intricately selected and staged that it invites the mind to bury itself in the concealed double meanings, marking a success for the band’s goal to “leave people curious to watch over and over and decode the various messages.”
Whether it’s the symbolic swagger of “They Own This Town” or the heart-wrenching sentimentalism of their recent hit “You’re Somebody Else,” Flora Cash prove that their songs are meant to carry a larger, lasting message.
Check out the visual for “They Own This Town” below.