Sad13 Drops Sad Stop-Motion Video for ‘Ruby Wand’

Ahead of the release of her new album Haunted Painting on Friday, Sad13’s Sadie Dupuis has shared a stop-motion video for “Ruby Wand.”

Directed by Benjamin Stillerman, the video features a woman sitting in her kitchen, tossing ruby wands into the trash as she selects the Tower tarot card. Her house gets uprooted into the sky as it fills with water. “Diagnosed with OCD today/Somebody take my metal away,” Dupuis sings. “I just dive into my skin, looking for proof I’m OK.”

“Ruby’s my birthstone, thought to alleviate negative emotional energy and benefit self-awareness,” Dupuis said in a statement. “So a ‘Ruby Wand’ would be an instrument to conjure those changes. The song is about working through an OCD flare-up in the wake of complicated grief — seeking control through small rituals, good and bad.”

“Lyrically, it’s more literal than most of my songs, and the music mirrors that narrative,” she continued. “The synths are calculating but also fantastical, while the guitars and drums push against that clock in heavy chaos. Might as well also admit that ‘Ruby Wand’ is a weapon from Star Ocean, one of my very favorite RPGs.”

“Ruby Wand” follows the singles “WTD?” “Ghost (Of a Good Time),” “Oops…!” and “Hysterical.” Dupuis will release Haunted Painting via her Wax Nine label. You can preorder it now.