Brooklyn’s Late Cambrian to host music video launch party for new single ‘Into The Lilac Tree’

The Brooklyn-based band Late Cambrian is celebrating the launch of their latest single, “Into The Lilac Tree,” with a party to unveil the music video.

The indie rock band released the song on Oct. 19 on streaming services. The song was inspired by their love for the Robert Eggers movie “Nosferatu,” which came out in 2024.

“I like the idea of a kind of supernatural creature becoming obsessed with a human and then trying to coax them into an eternal relationship with them,” said John Wlaysewski, singer and lead guitarist for Late Cambrian. “It kind of says things about relationships in general and how weird and unbalanced they can be, and then how that can also be seen as romantic.”

The music video for “Into The Lilac Tree” was directed by King Z, who worked with the band to help bring the song to life by utilizing their inspirations.

Late Cambrian's John Wlaysewski and Olivia Hui as seen in "Into The Lilac Tree." — Late Cambrian’s John Wlaysewski and Olive Hui as seen in “Into The Lilac Tree.”Photo courtesy of Late Cambrian

“I had mentioned to him that I was inspired by ‘Nosferatu’ and by movies in general, and he just somehow took that and ran with it and turned it into a weird kind of modern ‘Wizard of Oz’ theme,” said Wlaysewski.

The video follows a Dorothy-esque character who goes on her own somewhat cosmic Oz-like adventure, trying to get away from a witch. The video features Wlaysewski and the rest of the band (lead singer Olive Hui, guitarist Eric Zeender, bassist Matthew Milligan and drummer Ben Weiss), Savannah Fox as Dorothy, Frank Conniff as the pastor, and Susannah Pryce as the mysterious woman. The video also features Kazu Imafuku, Nico Spataro, Serge Roy, Liv Webster, Emmie Rose, Aurora O, Alexis Fisher, Samuel Fry, Asyl “Selena” Anzurez, and Maria Elena.

The music video’s visuals have horror and gothic undertones while utilizing a brighter, more saturated color palette.

“[King Z] took what I said about a forever love being kind of romantic, but also scary, and spun that into a weird story about the Dorothy character running from adulthood and then running from this witch and finding out later that the witch is a future version of herself,” said Wlaysewski.

into the lilac tree cassette tape — Into The Lilac Tree is now streaming.Photo courtesy of Late Cambrian

On Nov. 10, Late Cambrian will host a launch party at Gymnopedie in Bushwick to release the music video for “Into The Lilac Tree.” Those who attend will be able to hang out with the band while they debut the video. “Into The Lilac Tree” cassettes will be available for sale.

Wlaysewski hopes that those who watch the video, either at the party or online following the release, are able to inspire their own journey from the story and visuals.

“It’s about the journey. I want people to feel like maybe they’re Dorothy and they’re on their own journey, when they get to the Emerald Tower of Cambrian and it’s not exactly what they thought,” said Wlaysewski.

“Into The Lilac Tree” is now streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. You can purchase your ticket for the launch party at eventbrite.com.

You can follow Late Cambrian on Instagram @latecambrian.