As a rule, any e-mail sent within the first four weeks of the New Year that describes something as  “literally and symbolically the blooming of the next chapter as an artist and a person” should be met with a healthy skepticism.

But in this case I can make an exception; that quote is from Stereo Telescope leading lady Nicole Marie, referring to her new project ORCHIDS, and I believe her because she has an artful and intoxicating video to back up those bold words.

In the e-mail accompanying the video, she sheds some light on where ORCHIDS (Marie, plus DJ/producer Leah V and co-production by Alex Fiorentino) is coming from: “In recent years, I’ve born the heaviest losses, sunk into the deepest despair, but also found the most fulfilling lessons and relationships. Telling the whole truth through my music is a constant battle of revelations, insecurity, and subsequent unsurety. The one constant is that the darkness always contours the light.”

Her debut clip, a cover of the 2013 smash hit by A Great Big World and Christina Augilera “Say Something,” gives the song a darker and more muscular electronic vibe, with visuals that echo those themes of rebirth.

She writes: “This song [Say Something] caught hold of me the very first time I heard a stripped down rendition by the songwriter in 2009, and the pensive and authentic sadness holds a variety of meanings for me that stretch beyond the obvious unrequited love story.  I’ve always been gun-shy about covers, but this song has always held a special place.

As ORCHIDS works toward a full length, I wanted to first challenge myself to re-imagine a piece of music that wrapped around so many of my solitary musings and tap into all those emotions and worries that I held so close to the vest, and finally let them go into the ether.

This new year is all about baring the darkness and fear, and my process of working through everything that’s happened and stepping into the next chapter.”