For their 2017 album Steady, Halifax five-piece Strongboy hit their bedroom pop stride hard with a new music video for their single “You’re Waiting.“ True to their genre, the video delves into the subliminal and beyond as we make a dreamscape visit into the scrapyard of our souls. Or something. It’s pretty abstract.
“The video and song revolve around our own worlds we escape into when we are feeling overwhelmed and stressed in our daily lives. Sometimes we can get lost in these places when we try to ignore the real issues for too long,” explains Strongboy’s Brett Jerrett.
Directed by Halifax film-maker Cecile Holland, filmed by Tim Mombourquette and edited by Jeff Miller, the video was shot in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Unsurprisingly, as per Strongboy’s modus operandi, the video takes on a quasi-psychedelic feel. We are leaning well into the microscopic details in a way that feels, strangely enough, textural.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s direct interpretation of the song, but more of an abstract, almost surreal take on the feelings associated with the song itself,” says Jarrett.
Whatever those feelings seem to represent, “Steady” seems to expect us to actively engage in a time-out. This is an internal exploratory mission. We’re being forced to root ourselves in the moment, grasp onto something seriously tactile, really get obsessed with it, forget the world, and take in the experience of… well, we don’t know. It’s not the kind of answer you find while starring at a screen.
Given the absence of context for “You’re Waiting,” whatever questions you ask or answers you arrive at are necessarily a reflection of your own psyche. Delve at your own risk. Here be dragons.
Strongboy will be performing at this year’s Lawnya Vawnya music festival in St John’s, Newfoundland on May 25th, 2018.