Akron/Family, the reliably trippy psych-folk trio, just released their fifth album, the fuzzy, tribal S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, which earned an 8-out-of-10 review in SPIN. Now, the Brooklyn-born band has channeled the child-like wonder of the album into the playful video for the single “Silly Bears.” Watch the video below, and download the MP3, too!
In the clip — directed by filmmaker Matt Brunson — a teddy bear goes on an existential journey through space and encounters a giant robot, a wayward pilot, and a plastic toy horse; think Pee-Wee’s Playhouse meets the “Star Gate” sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey. These images are projected onto large cardboard boxes, often bathed in a Day-Glo smear, making the clip resemble a hand-made Rubik’s Cube.
“I love the technique of projection on the boxes,” Akron/Family’s Miles Seaton tells SPIN. “When the boxes move, the whole perspective moves with it. It feels very ‘performed’ rather than ‘processed’ which I think is an almost strange notion these days.”
The video manages to mimic the song’s constantly shifting dynamics, capturing its chaotic instrumentation and giddy melodies. “The dizzying colors and layers of perspective feel like they point to the ghostly sparkling harmonies living in those florescent overtones that all the layers of distortion on the track produce,” Seaton says.
But despite all the layered imagery and technical wizardry on display, the video has a gentle, giddy heart beating beneath all the special effects. “I also love the little stop motion horse and how the kid touches its face when the words ‘gently, gently’ are sung,” says Seaton. “But I’m a softie like that.”
Watch the video here and tell us what you think in the comments, plus download a free MP3 of “Silly Bears” just below the video player.
WATCH: Akron/Family, “Silly Bears”
DOWNLOAD: Akron/Family, “Silly Bears”
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