Fields, fantasias, and the electro arias of Jessica Hottman; photographed by Kelsey Hunter Ayres, styled by Marissa Nanarone, photo assist by Owen Nugent.

Like moths to a flame, the base of human impulse runs wild like puckish imps reacting to each mischievous whim. Like bumbling bees making a dart toward a nectar that is instead some sort of saccharine styled synthetic substance that proves to be incompatible for hive comb construction. The allure of a chic designer accoutrement or attaché bag that turns out to be a fake, fresh off of Canal Street in Lower Manhattan. The thirst for a grand cru that turns out to be nothing more than mass produced plonk purloined from a corporate supermarket chain. An overpriced vintage album won at an online auction house that is revealed upon arrival to be nothing more than a cheap bootleg from a seller that is suddenly non-responsive, and nowhere to be found.

Similarly the cat and mouse sports of amour can be akin to theses types of baits and switches. For example, the elusive dreamboat that appears to be a luxury liner turns about to be nothing more than a second rate chaos cruise that leaves you stranded in international waters with the classy finesse of a floating latrine shed. The visage of a venerable figure that turns out to be nothing more than a vampirical drain of energy and wasted emotion. All of these (and more), smoke shows and mirrors are illustrated in pulsing synth beat bursts on Jessica Hottman’s new song “Poisonous”. The Omaha, NE musician, actor, model, filmmaker of The Hottman Sisters, Giveth and Sun Cycles shares a simmering and smoldering meditation on illusory romantic agents of the toxic type from the forthcoming solo album Exit Through the Trees.

The electric humming body and spirit moving rhythms light up Jessica’s verses on vulnerability, sparking like the rumbling hum of a power station’s busbars, circuit breakers, switchgears, turbines, and so forth. “Poisonous” muses about the apples that are rotten right to the core that present with the shine of a faux honeycrisp surface, but in actuality are simply a basic irradiated GMO mutagenesis crop. Jessica Hottman sings a breathy tribute to these messy—yet magnetic—folks that can surficially appear to be oh so right, and are nothing but a whole lotta wrong.

Creative journeys and the visceral visions of Jessica Hottman; photographed by Kelsey Hunter Ayres, styled by Marissa Nanarone, photo assist by Owen Nugent.

The Anthony Farenwald visuals see Hottman taking the calm and collected focused vibes to a lonely arid winter landscape during a season of natural dormancy. Finding comfort and solace among a cluster of trees, Jessica sings about being a sucker for the frauds and friendly mysteries that mesmerize and then drift away. “Poisonous” illustrates the people and things that we ultimately know are no good, and the sordid connections that can remain kindled, even in their absentia. Jessica makes peace with the ill-suited objects of attraction in an arrangement of pensive pumping keys, lavish lyrical lamentations, and a video that brings it all back down to the farm.

Jessica Hottman—in armor & amour; photographed by Kelsey Hunter Ayres, styled by Marissa Nanarone, photo assist by Owen Nugent.

In the artist’s own words:

“Poisonous” is about being lured into the grip of toxic love—like biting into a forbidden fruit. It’s about longing to connect deeply and to peel back someone’s layers, only to be kept at a distance, lost in a haze of uncertainty.

Jessica Hottman’s album Exit Through the Trees will be available later this year.

PREMIERE Jessica Hottman, "Poisonous"