It's only been about a month (three short posts ago, in fact) since I last extolled the brilliance of Extra Arms' new album, Headacher (out now via Get Party! Records), which continues to pretty much guarantee its spot as one of my favorite releases of 2018. So, when asked if I had any interest in premiering the video for the LP's lead title track, of course I agreed!
The straight-to-the-point effort does what most videos should do best: let the music do the talking. And talk it does—another stellar example of the group's little bit emo, little bit indie, little bit pop, whole lotta rock! Guitarist/vocalist Ryan Allen had the following to offer regarding the clip:
"Headacher" is the first song we wrote for our new album. It's basically about feeling dazed and confused after the last presidential election, and the reality of what just happened setting in. Kind of an "Oh, shit, I can't believe this is real." type of feeling. But, it's also a rallying cry to get outside of your own little political bubble and do what you can to make a positive change—to fight back against this orange Cheeto that we have in office.
The video was conceptualized by my brother, Scott Allen (of Constant Motion Productions), who used to play with me in my old band, Thunderbirds are Now!, and has since become a really talented video editor. He basically said, "Here's what I'm thinking: close-up shots, animations from your album cover, and blood." We were down and met up one morning at the warehouse of the building where I work and shot the thing in a handful of hours. He took it from there and turned our little late-'70s/early-'80s-white-background-promo-video thing into a building, dynamic piece of art. He's a crazy genius, and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out.
Stream Headacher in full on Bandcamp, Spotify, etc. and if you like what you hear—hint: you should—snag one o' those 300 LPs before they're gone! And, hey, if you're like me and love CDs, GTG Records has got you covered! Who knew!? (Follow Extra Arms on Facebook and Instagram, too!)
