If I'm being honest, I'm not much of a music video guy. But, I must admit, this hectic new clip from Peroxide Blonde—for the first of two recently released singles, "Bright Manhattan"—not only avoids irritation, but actually manages to widen one's interpretation of the composition itself.
For one thing, the footage being quite literally dark strikes as a peculiar approach for a song called "Bright Manhattan"—at least on the surface. But something about that decision draws more focus toward the lyrics, which already lean away from any shed of brightness, in what was more than likely an intentionally ironic twist all along. And the fast-paced constancy of the cuts really highlights what can otherwise be a slightly subdued sense of anxiety within the track, especially amidst the rhythm section.
About the piece, bassist Abigail Poppke offered the following:
"Bright Manhattan" is short and fast-paced, so the video has a lot of quick shots and choppy editing to match the song's energy. Liam [Boyle, drums] edited it and did a great job using a ton of footage to match the rhythm of the song. It's supposed to feel relentless and aggressive.
It's definitely not a polished video. This was my first time directing, I shot it on a camcorder, and I didn't really plan what we were going to film. I knew we'd film it around NYC and out in Montauk, and that Johnny [Poppke, guitar/vocals] would be talking on the phone throughout the video, but that's about it.
I think people sometimes have difficulty categorizing our music, so I wanted to use the visuals to show what our band is about.
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Stream or download "Bright Manhattan" and "Kiss Me Goodbye" via Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Grab a t-shirt via Big Cartel. Find Peroxide Blonde on Instagram.
