Odd XX has succeeded in creating a creepy and ritualistic track which could only emerge from the teeming underbelly of Berlin. “Restart” is like vultures circling around a dead body, waiting to tear it to pieces. The beat is pure horrorshow and the song feels like the soundtrack to a snuff film, odd and incomprehensible.

There is a whimsical playfulness to the song despite the sickness at its core. It is ritualized, preparing our minds for the sacrifice. At the center of the “Restart” is the all-consuming madness of heartbreak, the artist driven to the edge by loneliness. Odd XX has a way of building suspense without ever releasing, simply revealing layer after layer of malformity. Guest vocalist Star Kendrick chants:

“If only I could be anything but me, I’ll try again

Remember to start again my friend

Start again together.”

The accompanying music video starts with a long and uncomfortable silence. then bodies moving as if drawn by puppet strings. The dancers are expressionless, void of emotion, which adds to the creepy workout vibe. It is as if they were dead bodies reanimated. All of it seems like a culty dance.

Long before the true sickness of the video kicks in, a sense of extreme unease fills the viewer. The dancers are so full of grace, yet so devoid of happiness. The motions are entrancing. As the song enters its minimal stages the brutality and rottenness of nature is shown, then the dancers enter an orgy, devoid of all sexuality. The object of their worship, the rabbit masked Odd XX, appears in tableau as the disconcerting images flash.

All in all, it wigs me out.

Play this cautionary tale and fear the dark.