Scientists of Sound are releasing their album new album, The Beginning (of the beginning of the end), this Friday. Naturally, the hype surrounding it nearly tangible and has only been heightened by their new video for “Dark Side of the Room” – a new single that takes on the demons of mental health head on.
Directed by Matt Corkum of Fade to White photography, “Dark Side of the Room” echoes that of Paul Aarntzen’s video for fellow-Haligonians Hillsburn’s “Strange Clouds” with something of a role-reversal. Staring a wolf-masked Izra Fitch, the main character is continually struggling with alienation, even to the point that we begin to question what’s real: the world around her, her perception, or even the main character herself.
Curiously, where “Strange Clouds” deals in similar struggles, it’s the angular-faced foes that wear the masks, whereas “Dark Side of the Room” has our protagonist wearing the mask. With that, Craig Mercer, lead singer for Scientist of Sound, suggests how thickly depression can cloud your sense of self.
Inspired by his own issues with mental health, Mercer says, “When things get overwhelming, it can be really easy to let the darkness take over, even though we know this just makes things worse. The Flowers never bloom on the dark side of the room—we know it, yet we find ourselves there sometimes, and we have to work hard to get back to the light.”
Which leaves us to wonder, is this perhaps why have Scientists of Sound been wearing masks while performing all these years?
The Beginning (of the beginning of the end), the latest album from Scientists of Sound is out Friday, November 15th, with a quick official release tour kicking off at The Capital Complex in Fredericton.
Tour Dates:
11.15.19 – Fredericton, NB @ The Capital Complex
11.16.19 – Saint John, NB @ Pub Down Under
11.22.19 – Charlottetown, PEI @ Hunter’s Ale House
11.23.19 – Halifax, NS @ The Marquee Ballroom