High-camp art-pop duo Faux Real announce second album Poison Time and share "That Far"

The track, by brothers Elliott and Virgile Arndt, explores the interiors of social interactions. The song suggests that you can only be so safe in this environment, and that you are only the master of yourself. In the accompanying video, the duo dance through anxieties of miscommunication, finding synchronised deliverance against dramatic skies and industrial backdrops slashed with pops of colour.

Recorded at home in Los Angeles, Poison Time takes a more visceral approach than its predecessor Faux Ever. Where earlier work leaned into pastiche and performance, this record shifts towards something more immediate and reflective, without losing the pair’s instinct for subversion. Themes of identity, self-perception, and authenticity run throughout. The album cover, shot by Grant Spanier, nods to Marina Abramović’s ‘Resting Energy’, showing the duo hovering above dark waters moments away from disaster.

Faux Real are known for their high-energy, performance-piece-esque live shows, combining showmanship, choreography, and practical effects. Formed between Paris and London, they first emerged with their self-titled EP in 2020, where listeners coined the term “anti-rock” to describe their approach.

The duo have since toured with Wet Leg and Metronomy, and have announced headline shows including a London date at the ICA on 14 November, plus dates in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Amsterdam. They also play festivals in Rzeswow and Quebec this summer.

As self-proclaimed ‘method musicians’, Elliott and Virgile approach life and art through the lens of Faux Realism, playing with the mechanics of pop while subtly unpicking them.

Poison Time artwork