Since her 2016 single “Star” reached number one in the charts, Heize has risen to prominence in the music industry, and her latest single, “We Don’t Talk Together”, does not disappoint. The song features Giriboy, whom she collaborated with, in a track titled “Traffic Control“, and is produced by BTS‘s Suga.
As indicated by the title of the song, “We Don’t Talk Together” discusses a lack of communication between lovers who have parted. The two still have feelings for each other but are unable to properly convey them, resulting in guilt and sorrow between the two. Both sides face conflict within themselves that is never resolved, creating a melancholic atmosphere to the song.
I can’t let you go,
But I can’t open my mouth
But I’ll let you go
No I don’t want to let you go
The music video takes on a campier vibe, featuring Heize experiencing a one-sided relationship with a skeleton. The two are seen having a tea party where they share a macaron together and Heize feeding the skeleton some cake. Heize is also shown to be taking care of the skeleton when he is supposedly sick, but when she feeds him cereal, the cereal pieces pass through his body and land on the floor.
Although exaggerated and theatrical, Heize’s care for a skeleton depicts her efforts placed into the relationship, blindly believing that she is still in a relationship where the feelings are mutual. It is only when the cereal passes through the skeleton is when she starts to admit that she is living a lie and that her past lover had already gone.
Flowers are a common motif throughout the entire video, where Heize is always wearing a floral printed dress, and the rooms are typically filled with flowers. However, this contrasts the overall deathly mood of the video, especially when Heize wears mourning clothes whilst pushing the skeleton in a wheelchair.
Surrounding a skeleton — something that is dead — amongst live flowers, makes her skeleton lover stick out like a sore thumb. This indicates that he does not belong in that space, and has moved on to another place without Heize despite her attempts to care for him.
It is also shown that Heize knows this, particularly during the short scenes that occur during Giriboy’s rap. She is seen to be distressed and conflicted, indicating that she knows this relationship she has is a facade. Heize is desperately clinging to the past she had with her when he was still alive, and this is revealed during Giriboy’s rap. Yet despite the two conducting activities such as the tea party, Heize’s lover is still disinterested in her, rarely smiling or reacting to her actions.
His cold demeanour suggests that he is only playing along with Heize’s fantasies and that he did not want to be there. The idea of Heize controlling the relationship then becomes prominent, for the music video opens with Heize digging her lover’s skeleton out of his grave, once again putting her lover in a position against his will.
Although the lyrics and the music do not directly relate to each other, the idea of loss and emptiness is evident in both aspects. Lyrically, the lovers desperately try to the fill the void within themselves after losing the other. Visually, Heize is seen holding onto the past in hopes of reliving her past relationship once against.
At the end of the music video, her lover rises and opens his arms. Heize runs to him without any hesitation, and for a brief moment, her lover is shown in his human form. Amongst all the scenes between Heize and her lover, this is the most raw and vulnerable, for we see Heize running to him desperately, almost as if he would come back to life if she ran to him fast enough.
However, the shot of the two hugging cuts to Heize hugging the skeleton, to which she lets go of disappointedly. The act of dropping the skeleton implies that she has finally chosen to let go of her lover even if she does not want to. Yet the golden light behind her alludes to the start of a new phase in her life, setting a hopeful tone.
The first and last scenes of the music video contrast each other the most. In the beginning, it is dark, with Heize standing in the middle of a graveyard with a shovel. The opening melody is played on a synth, setting a melancholic and somewhat eerie mood to the video. However, at the very end, Heize is standing in a field of flowers with the sun behind her. The melody is now played on a piano, and while it continues to create a melancholic mood, it also indicates a bittersweet moment for Heize. She is finally accepting the fact that her lover is gone, but at the same time facing the sad reality that he is never coming back.
“We Don’t Talk Together” expresses deep regret and sorrow, and the overall atmosphere and mood of the music video really highlighted the raw and intense emotions of the song. Although funny to watch at first, viewers start to sympathise with Heize’s character towards the end, acknowledging the tiring emotional journey her character has gone through.
“We Don’t Talk Together” is only released as a single, but I am looking forward to what Heize has in store for us in the future.
