There”s a lot of excitement around the new Spoon album, “They Want My Soul,” much of it coming from catchy first single, “Do You.” In direct contrast to the song”s upbeat melody, the video is a bit of a downer.
Lead singer Britt Daniel, looking dazed and confused from a head wound, drives through a city at war, but despite the chaos, he”s moving at a very leisurely pace. About two minutes in, we realize he”d not alone: his companion is a teenage girl in the backseat. With her headphones on and her blasé expression, she seems even less concerned about the unfolding destruction.
Directed by Hiro Murai, the video is a case of not much to see and everything to see all at the same time…depending upon your view. If you can hang on until around the 3-minute mark, there”s an amusing pay-off. The video is part of Urban Outfitters' series of video clips. For bands looking for dollars to help underwrite their artistic endeavors: this is the way it's done. No product placement and yet Urban Outfitters, whose site houses the video, gets the coolness by association.
“They Want My Soul” comes out Aug. 5 and is the band”s first for Loma Vista Recordings after a long tenure on Merge Records.
Apocalyptic scenes are big again: check out last week”s video for “War on the East Coast” from The New Photographers, that follows a somewhat similar visual approach to cities under siege.