A Cold Hole is an installation with a bright, snow-floored room and a square center hole through which people climb and plunge into icy water. Dana Foote called the dark pit a "psychological winter" and began referring to depression as being "in the hole." She named the opening track on Swallow the Knife "In the Hole" and pairs bouncy, deceptively upbeat music with despondent lyrics. Foote began recording music as a Bennington College senior; after a viral track on TikTok she signed to a major label and later parted ways with it. The album channels '90s influences like PJ Harvey and the Pixies while addressing extrication from an abusive relationship, grief, and anger on tracks such as "Kiss."
In a dark gallery, looking into a bright room with snow-covered floors and a square hole cut from its center-this is how a viewer experiences A Cold Hole, an installation by artist Taryn Simon. But it's not a static encounter: Watching from the gallery, you'll routinely see someone enter the bright room, climb into the hole, and plunge into icy water beneath it.
Her latest release follows in this vein, channeling PJ Harvey and the Pixies while detailing Foote's experience extricating herself from an abusive relationship and her grief in the face of what she endured. "Go on and tell me you're the victim/Go on and tell me I'm the cruel one," she hisses over a plucky guitar riff on "Kiss," then chews through the syllables of the fuzzed-out chorus.
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