Moses Sumney Shares the Dark Side of Polyamory on Stark New Single, “Polly”

Last month, Moses Sumney announced his forthcoming double album, græ, with the searing lead single “Virile.” Part One of græ will be out digitally in February 2020, with the second set for release May 15, 2020. For now, Sumney has offered up another slice of the record, “Polly”—and it couldn’t sound more different.

Where “Virile” brought the drama and had an equally striking, cinematic visual, “Polly” is stripped-down and acoustic, with the most unadorned video possible. “‘Polly’’s about wishing you had a few more arms than you do,” Sumney says of the song, and it sounds cryptic until you listen: It’s about a flighty, narcissistic lover who treats him like an object among many (“Polly” being a clear reference to polyamory). “If I split my body into two men, would you then love me better?” he asks, softly, vowing to “octopus myself so you weather this.” The lyric video is no less stark: Sumney looks directly into his webcam, silently weeping.

Via Twitter, Sumney called “Polly” his “favorite writing from the upcoming record”:

“Polly” single art and lyrics. There wasn’t gonna be a single this month but I wanted to highlight my favorite writing from the upcoming record…

https://t.co/62gtoCDa4p via https://t.co/zhrMQgTDrMpic.twitter.com/JXxtCkRv9Q

— Moses Sumney (@MosesSumney) December 16, 2019

Watch “Polly” below.