The records warping above the rooftops have curled into deep, uneven waves. Their grooves remain visible around plain centre labels, making the softened shapes especially strange. Beside them, a sheet of black icing slips from a half-eaten cake onto its plate, pulling away from the orange piping. At the open window, a woman holds a glass of water and watches a brilliant white disc above the dark city.

A stopped fan, record player and shelves of albums fill the apartment around her. Potted plants droop beside the tall window frames, with water towers and chimneys layered across the view outside. The pale green cotton dress catches the same hard light that traces the records' curved edges. Familiar textures keep the impossible heat close: crumbs on the plate, wooden furniture, a coil of leaves and the smooth glass in her hand. This Halloween photograph suits a surreal portrait wallpaper or seasonal print, with the city held in darkness while the room's ordinary objects begin to change shape.