Doomed (Moses Sumney Song)
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"Doomed" is a song by American singer-songwriter
Moses Sumney Moses Sumney (born May 19, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. His self-recorded EP, ''Mid-City Island'', was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled ''Lamentations''. His first full-length album, ''Aroma ...
. It was released on June 27, 2017, as the lead single from his debut studio album ''
Aromanticism Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism. It is distinct from, ...
'' through
Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...
. It is the ninth track on the album. The song was written and produced by Sumney alongside Matthew Otto, a former member of the Canadian music group Majical Cloudz.


Background and composition

In an interview with
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Sumney called "Doomed" the "thesis" of ''
Aromanticism Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism. It is distinct from, ...
'' in explaining why he chose the song as the album's lead single. "Doomed" is an existential reflection on mortality and love in relation to a lack of love, or
aromanticism Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism. It is distinct from, ...
. In the chorus, Sumney ask himself: "Am I vital / If my heart is idle? / Am I doomed?" With the lyrics "If lovelessness is godlessness / Will you cast me to the wayside?", Jason King of ''
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'' described it as "foreclosing the possibility of finding lasting intimacy and love with a partner." The track is musically
minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
, prominently featuring Sumney's "nearly-
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
" falsetto vocals which are backed by sustained synthesizer chords. Brian Josephs of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' wrote, "Sumney is luminous here within the percussion-less drones' warmth—his falsetto angelic, his sentiments human." Cyclone Wehner of ''
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'' called it an "existentialist operatic dirge."


Critical reception

The track was met with favorable reviews. It was awarded "Best New Track" distinction by
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upon its release, with Briana Younger praising the "rawness" of Sumney's vocals as "arresting" and saying "the best qualities of his music are put into overdrive."
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' praised Sumney's "unearthly falsetto". Brian Josephs of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' called the song "the album's stunner."


Year-end lists

"Doomed" was listed at #36 by ''
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'' on its "The 100 Best Songs of 2017" list. The song was included at #35 on ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
''s "The 101 Best Songs of 2017" list.


Music video

The accompanying music video of "Doomed" was released the same day as the track. Directed by Allie Avital, the video features Sumney floating naked in a tank of water. Near the video's end, a woman is seen separated across from Sumney in her own tank as they stare at one another. The visual pans outward from Sumney to reveal a field of tanks with naked individuals floating within each one. The visual has been compared to the pods of ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
'' films. The music video was listed at #2 on "The 5 Best Videos Of The Week" list by
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, who called it "a tragically resonant visual metaphor about black American isolation." The music video was nominated for the Independent Video of the Year award at the 2018
AIM Independent Music Awards The AIM Independent Music Awards, hosted by the Association of Independent Music (commonly abbreviated to AIM), began in 2011. It is established through a collection of independent record labels and providing service and support to independent and ...
.


Performances

Sumney performed the song at
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in
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. A video of the performance was released on Sumney's
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channel on July 10, 2017, the same day his debut album ''
Aromanticism Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism. It is distinct from, ...
'' was announced. The song was also performed live at "A Performance in V Acts," a five-part concert film directed by the artist and shot at The Ford in Los Angeles. Sumney was supported by the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
.


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Aromanticism''. *
Moses Sumney Moses Sumney (born May 19, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. His self-recorded EP, ''Mid-City Island'', was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled ''Lamentations''. His first full-length album, ''Aroma ...
– vocals, songwriting, production * Matthew Otto – songwriting, synthesizer * Joshua Willing Halpern – engineering * Ben Baptie – mixing *
Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...
– mastering


In popular culture

"Doomed" appeared in the ninth episode of the third season '' The Path'', titled "The Veil" which aired on
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on February 28, 2018. It also appeared in the Season 6 finale of
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's ''
Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...
''. "Doomed" was included in
the soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...
to
Melina Matsoukas Melina Matsoukas (born January 14, 1981) is an American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time MTV Video Music Awards winner for her "We Found Love" and " Formation" music video ...
' 2019 film '' Queen & Slim''. The song was also featured in the end credits of " The Absence of Field", the third episode of the third season of the
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thriller television series ''
Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...
''. An instrumental cover of "Doomed" by composer
Ramin Djawadi Ramin Djawadi (born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian-German film score composer, conductor, and record producer. He is known for his scores for the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2018 and 2020. He is al ...
is also played in the final scene of the episode. The episode aired on March 29, 2020. It was also featured in Grey's Anatomy in the 22nd episode of the 14th season, titled, "Fight For Your Mind". "Doomed" featured in the seventh episode of the third season of
Ted Lasso ''Ted Lasso'' ( ) is an American sports film, sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence (TV producer), Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character Sudeikis portrayed in a series ...
.


References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Jagjaguwar singles Moses Sumney songs Songs written by Moses Sumney