More about: Walrus

Garage-psych rockers from Nova Scotia Walrus have today unveiled their video for ‘Played Out’. Directed by longtime creative collaborator and champion of the Halifax music scene Jeff Miller, you can watch it first on Gigwise below.

The aim for the video was simply to express the band’s love of wrestling and director Jeff Miller, who started out in video in seventh grade editing music videos to bootlegged wrestling clips, was happy to oblige. The resulting clip, which focuses on one lonely man presumably in his 30s smoking weed, drinking beer, and pretending to be Stone Cold Steve Austin in his back garden trampoline, is a little self-deprecating. Perhaps the tone of the video drawing on the childish nature of being obsessed with this sport as grown men. But it can also be viewed as a positive embrace of ones eccentricities, and celebrating the weirdness of collecting boxed figures, having all the t-shirts, and getting high alone. The slow motion shots do well to echo the dazed feeling laden into the psychedelia-tinged indie pop.

Speaking of the lyrical theme of the single, the band say: "This one is about doing something over and over even though you know it’s not good for you, and the feeling is played out compared to what it used to be. You do it anyway."

The video follows a series of spoof-y short films by Walrus depicting the trials and tribulations of being in an indie guitar band in 2019. Starring the band members, the videos are very self-aware and rip on their last album not doing well and have this over the top new manager, who is going to turn things around, except he’s a clueless egomaniac so it’s set up for failure.

In reality however, Walrus are on the up. The band have toured around the US supporting The Sadies, performed the Great Escape, Tallinn Music Week, FOCUS Wales, and numerous other festivals, garnering a feverish response wherever they go for their reverb, delay, and tremolo-drenched psychedelic pop. A sound inspired by Syd Barrett and The Beach Boys, but with a garage rock edge.

They are now signed to the same label as The Besnard Lakes and Saharan desert rockers Tinariwen for their upcoming album Cool To Who. Having already received Alternative Recording of the Year at the 2017 Music Nova Scotia awards for their last album, they are on fairly good footing but definitely remoulded their sound to be notch above what they're currently known for. Walrus have a notable release under wraps, for sure. Listen to their previous single 'Cool To Who'.

Artwork: Walrus - Cool To Who (out 18 October via Outside Music)



Tracklist: 

1. Breathe
2. Cool To Who
3. Half Smoke
4. Marcel
5. Mr. Insecure
6. Played Out
7. Ballad Of Love (Or Something)
8. Out For A While
9. Bored To Death
10. Anymore

More about: Walrus