Shutter Island

Shutter Island

Jessie Reyez

“Shutter Island” is the second track off the extended play, Kiddo.
Composed of mechanical banging, unintelligible, distorted shouting, and sharply drawn violins, Reyez tells the story of a toxic relationship in which she feels trapped into an endless spiral of insecurity and necessity of remaining with a man who does not love her back. However, after self-realization, she becomes liberated from him.

The music video–which perfectly symbolizes the story behind the song–shows her being locked inside a glass box, wearing a straight jacket wrapped in chains. Her lover seems to torture her by filling the box with large quantities of water.

About the song and video, Jessie stated:

Have you heard ‘Figures'? It’s about the same guy…but I was angrier this time. […] It was a shitty heartbreak. It was a shitty breakup. Peter Huang, the video director, is a beast. The water was cold. As cold as my heart. Lol"

The title is synonymous to the Martin Scorcese movie of the same name; it revolves around a US Marshall (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio) who is sent to investigate a case at a psychiatric hospital.