Britpop, it’s so hot right now. Earlier this month former My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way said his upcoming solo record was influenced by Cool Britannia, and now it’s Canada’s the New Pornographers who are getting in on the nostalgia fun.
The band’s new video for “War on the East Coast,” which you can watch below, is said to be inspired by Britpop — but not those top-shelf acts like Blur, Suede, and Pulp, oh no, no, no.
We’re talking “second tier Britpop attitude,” according to A.C. Newman, who appears in the continuously-shot music video. You hear that Jaime Harding and Martin Rossiter?
“We were going for some mid-’90s second-tier Britpop attitude,” Newman says, via Pitchfork. “In the past, I’ve never really wanted to be in the video. But with this, we wanted to have fun and fully be in the video.”
Added director Thom Glunt, also via the ‘Fork: “For ‘War on the East Coast’ we were excited to pay homage to those brilliant 90s music videos where the artist’s personality is prominently featured in one long unbroken shot. It was exciting to choreograph this video and call on the dedication and talents of the band’s fans (who appear as the video’s cast) to help us realize this vision for such a great song. I hope you enjoy watching the video as much as I enjoyed making it.”
We can pick up some vibes off Wax’s “Southern California” video (which we know isn’t Britpop), but other than maybe the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony,” we don’t see it. And we won’t even get into declaring the Verve “second-tier.”
Psssh.
The New Pornographers’ new album, Brill Bruisers, is out August 25 via Matador Records, and they hit Boston’s House of Blues on November 19. Check out Do617.com for more information on the show.
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