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MILCK's "Into Gold" Videos Will Make You Cry (and Inspire You to Change The World)

MILCK's new EP is accompanied by a quintet of videos.

MILCK - Don't Make It Easy (Into Gold Quintet: Part 1/5) [Official Music Video]

MILCK launched her music career as an activist, singing for justice and for unheard voices.

After her song "I Can't Keep Quiet" went viral at the 2016 women's march, she became an unofficial voice of the Trump "Resistance" movement. She connected deeply with many fans by being open about her history with eating disorders, mental illness, and sexual assault, and her music emanates the same kind of honesty, vulnerability, and love that informed her online confessions.

Now, the artist behind the magic—Connie Lim—is turning her attention inward, an act that she believes is "essential to create the outer peace we long to see in our modern world."

Her new album, Into Gold, is a raw, moving, wide-eyed tribute to change in all its forms. "I've realized in my journey that the only way to bring change into this world is by first healing and respecting myself," she said. "And I hope my music is the soundtrack to each gentle rebel's journey towards becoming the change he/she/they wants to see in the world."

Each song on the EP is accompanied by a video. All together, the project follows Lim as she journeys past heartbreak, deep into her own pain, and finally into the light of possibility and hope.

These are delicate, optimistic songs and videos, carefully crafted and made with love. Together, they tell a story, beginning with the end of a relationship and following the protagonist as she looks inward, begins to heal, broadcasts her story on television, discovers a group of women who carry her weight alongside her, and ultimately takes her throne and presents her vision of a better world.

The videos are refreshingly minimalist and always hopeful, avoiding colorful maximalism and the negativity and desperation that defines a great deal of today's pop music, exchanging weight and dissonance for soft lighting, clean tableaus, flawless production, and simple arrangements.

The art of Kitsungi is a method of fixing broken pottery by filling its cracks up with gold. With Into Gold, MILCK performs a kind of Kitsungi on her own wounds, spinning them into jet fuel for her own healing journey, painting over her scars with gold leaf. "It took me years to turn these tears from water into gold," she sings on "Gold." "Yeah, I worked for it. I'm proud of it."

As Leonard Cohen said, "There is a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in." MILCK's work is an exercise in mining those cracks and in willfully opting to let the light in.

The videos and songs of Into Gold are earnest and idealistic, but MILCK has clearly worked for her right to hope "If I am to rule, then may I submit to love," reads the pull quote at the beginning of the final song, "If I Ruled the World," which features lyrics about faster WiFi, naptime at work, and universal healthcare. Now there's a movement to get behind.

Watch the videos here:

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MILCK Shares Her Vision of a New World - Popdust ›

MILCK Shares Her Vision of a New World

MILCK's new single "If I Ruled the World" paints a picture of a world where everyone has affordable health insurance and fast WiFi.

MILCK - Quiet (Official Video)

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In 2016, MILCK became one of the leading voices of the burgeoning anti-Trump resistance movement with her rawly emotional power ballad "Quiet," which went viral after she performed it at the first Women's March.

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Now, with the next presidential election approaching, and with nearly four years of Trump down and four more looming, MILCK is still making good on her promise to sing out. But over these past few years, she hasn't been beaten down or fallen prey to anger, frustration, or apocalyptic foreboding. Instead, her newest single protests reality by offering a vision of a new world.

"If I Ruled the World" is about what would happen if the woman known as Connie Lim was allowed to shape the future. "In my journey since 'Quiet,' I have found that focusing on the world we want is far more powerful than focusing on what we don't want," she said. "Activism doesn't always have to be arduous. We can find joy within our fight. It's my vision for a better world."

The song's lyrics paint an optimistic picture. If MILCK was in charge, everyone would recycle, the WiFi would be faster, and women wouldn't judge themselves based on their weight. If she ruled the world, nobody would be slammed with huge bills from doctor's visits, and "instead of feeding fear, we'd be feeding half the planet." If Milck ruled the world, schoolkids would have days full of music and trips to the ocean and workdays would include naps and "age would be a source of pride."

The song is MILCK's first single off her forthcoming EP, Into Gold, which is about "the journey of a woman leaving a safe relationship in search of her authentic place in the world." While she seems to be in a better place now, Lim has been open about her struggles with domestic violence, depression, and anorexia. Those forces made their way into "I Can't Keep Quiet," in which MILCK's voice cracked and trembled with quiet strength. Now, having grown into a star, her voice has grown along with her, and she reaches new heights on "If I Ruled the World."

The whole song emphasizes belief that change—both personal and political—is possible. Four years after she broke through, MILCK officially has made good on her promise to speak out. Instead of keeping quiet, she's kept blooming, dreaming of possibility, casting love out into the void. "If I Ruled the World" is a sweet, optimistic vision of systemic change—but what else has ever actually changed the world? It's an ambitious vision, but MILCK has one clear message for us: It's achievable if we fight for it together.

Listen to "If I Ruled the World" here:

MILCK's forthcoming EP, Into Gold, is out February 21st.

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MILCK's "Into Gold" Videos Will Inspire You to Change the World - Popdust ›