Prepare yourselves for the record to soundtrack your summer, or your autumn, maybe even winter…
The great thing about Video Age is they are suitable for anytime of the year, because much like sadness and anxiety, they don’t discriminate.
For a few years now, the New Orleans group have subtly provided us with some of the smoothest, vulnerable jams you could get your hands on, like dusting off your Dad’s back catalogue to find the album you know you’re going to bond over. That’s not to say Video Age’s music has aged badly, oh contraire – this band possess beautiful, timeless authenticity.
‘Shadow On The Wall’ is the marker for which to start this next chapter, one of clear development and matured chops for the tender-hearted four-piece.
Where before you may of said that the encompassing songwriting of the group was embellished by the zany lo-fi nature of their approach or the novelty of chirping synths, tripping 808s and reverberating coos – with ‘Shadow On The Wall’ they’ve let everything breathe. Ross Farbe sounds cottony and unguarded, backed by traditional keys and light, bouncing handclaps – allowing the song to spring leisurely, enriched by the fuller production that is obviously on display.
The search for clarity doesn’t end in just the musicianship – the narrative sheds itself of its own looming darkness in search of understanding. With such a buoyant beat behind them, Farbe prompts realisation, that dark and light is like ying and yang – there’s a little of them both in each other. It’s in finding that balance that we can appreciate a sense of completeness – a ponderous note to explore through the medium of pop.
Spacious, rich and endearing – this is the most welcome of returns from Video Age.
Header Photo by Zack Shorrosh
The new issue of So Young is out now. It’s SOLD OUT in print but you can read the digital edition below.