Last year, Air Traffic Control released a masterpiece in the form of their latest album, Great Escapes. It’s the sort of album you want to hear resonating through an arena crowd, leaving your legs weak, questioning whether you might have perhaps chosen a more exciting career path, and asking how much hearing loss you’re willing to sacrifice.
But 2019 was a different time. Now we’re lucky to see singles, like the freshly released “Messed Up Alone”, being released as videos. The arena shows are now either something of the recent past or nebulous future. The gist behind “Messed Up Alone” seems apropos in light of that: to literally have something in your grasp and no idea what to do with it.
That might specifically apply to Air Traffic Control’s album, which should currently be enjoying a very successful festival season, but life provides no shortage of curveballs to which the sentiment might be applied. The single might as well have been titled “What to do in case of Emergency,” or more accurately, “What to do in case of Relationship”.
“The song is about the push and pull of attraction in relationships,” explains Kirk Comstock, ATC’s vocalist. “A relationship where you’re trying to navigate the mystery of the person who has you captivated; and yet leaves you constantly thinking twice. Hopefully not leaving you finding yourself messed up and alone.”
The video, composed by Paul Charron, includes an appropriately mysterious and elusive actress. So mysterious, in fact, that we have no idea who she is. Comstock says the footage was pulled from an internet archive, having captivated Charron.
“Paul Charron came up with the concept of shooting the video up close, kinda like the video ‘Head On‘ by The Pixies, and he added the mystery woman,” says Comstock. “She kinda reminds us of that Jimi Hendrix ’70s Cowgirl-style that seemed to match the visual roots; almost country, rock vibe of the song.”
It’s no substitute for an arena show, but a fine example of what can be accomplished in isolation. And, as they say, it is better to become enamoured with a mystery than to have gone into quarantine alone.