Jason Isbell’s most recent album with his band the 400 Unit, The Nashville Sound, sits comfortably on many critics lists as amongst the best full-length musical projects released thus far in 2017. Today, the Green Hill, Alabama native shared a new video for one of the most affecting songs from that record, a track titled “If We Were Vampires.”
Directed by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard, “If We Were Vampires” is presented as a gorgeously animated love story between two shadowy figures. Side-by-side and on the back of a motorcycle, they traverse a wide terrain of beautiful landscapes, from seaside cliffs, windmill covered plains, and tree-lined mountaintops. The visual aesthetic matches the tone, tenor and theme of the song itself, an almost Elliott Smith-esque minor-key ballad, to perfection.
“Joshua and Nielson did a great job of riding the fine line between literal and figurative interpretations of this song,” Isbell told Entertainment Weekly. “I love the story the video tells, the colors, and the pace of movement. The song deals with death as motivation, the way love changes, and the persistence of time, and I see these themes in the beautiful animation.”
You can watch the video for “If We Were Vampires” above.
