Berlin band Vanilla Bats have shared the video for ‘Mirror Face’, taken from their forthcoming second album, ‘It’s Getting Dark’.

The single itself arrived on September 23 and finds the band leaning into a darker, more dance-driven sound. Underneath it, though, is a song about vanity, insecurity and the strange pressure of constantly seeing versions of ourselves through social media. The track began with a handful of phone demos from Chris Frey, mostly bass ideas and the chiming guitar parts that now frame the song. Roxy Music, A Certain Ratio and Duran Duran were all reference points, with a touch of Scott Walker in Frey’s vocal. Joshua Wells at The Mango Pit in Chicago mixed the track and added extra percussion, pushing it further towards the dancefloor. Frey is originally from Vancouver, where he played in Radio Berlin, The Book of Lists and Destroyer. He later ended up in Berlin after working as a roadie on a Black Mountain European tour, and eventually formed Vanilla Bats there. The band released their debut album, ‘Citrus Finds a Wound’, in 2023. ‘Mirror Face’ suggests that the next one will take things in a more rhythmic direction.