I am rejoicing that the War On Drugs are back — no not that war on drugs, though Attorney General Sessions seems determined to bring it back too — I’m talking about the Philly psych-rock band led by Adam Granduciel.
After a meandering, eleven-minute one-off track for Record Store Day, “Thinking Of A Place,” the band returned for good with a world tour and “Holding On,” the lead single off their new record A Deeper Understanding, which is out late August on Atlantic Records.
Since they officially announced the record, the band have performed “Holding On” live on Colbert, but today they shared their own interpretation of the song with a new video. The clip follows the daily routines of an elderly man (played by The Wire star Frankie Faison), as he wakes up, takes his vitamins, heads down to a local diner, plays some pool, and eventually, runs into Adam Granduciel himself, who is driving by in a truck. Granduciel gives the man a ride, teaches him how to take a polaroid, and even takes one of him in front of a gazebo in his backyard.
In one of the final shots of the video, we see the polaroid tucked inside of the framed picture of the him as a very young man with a woman, who it is safe to presume is now gone. It’s a touching portrait of how our tiny acts of kindness can help people deal with their larger griefs, and a visualization of life in a small town. It was directed by filmmaker Brett Haley with concept by Krysten Ritter. Watch it above.
A Deeper Understanding is out 8/25 via Atlantic Records. Pre-order it here.
