In Steven Hyden’s recent profile of Manchester Orchestra, songwriter Andy Hull proclaims “We want to make sure that our new record is better than [anyone’s] new record.” Now that A Black Mile To The Surface is in the world and proving that statement right, the Atlanta-based rock band is turning the same kind of attention to their music videos.
In the new clip for standout track “The Grocery,” the past comes to life through old pictures in a broken down house. Fires burn, smoke rises, and generations of memories drift more towards haunting than nostalgia. Directed by Johnny Chew, the clip proves to be as technically sharp as it is conceptually ambitious, going full Harry Potter when the pictures are animated.
In a press release, Chew had this to say about the video:
“I based the idea for the video on the concept of a family’s pain and struggles being passed down through generations. Every family has a weird history they try to ignore or overcome. Rather than focusing on a concrete narrative, I wanted a more loose, visceral experience as if we have just stumbled across these family heirlooms and are trying to make sense of them ourselves, with only hints and suggestions to what was truly going on.”
Check out Manchester Orchestra’s video for “The Grocery” above. The band was recently our own Celebration Rock podcast, and A Black Mile To The Surface is out now on Loma Vista.
