In yesterday’s preview of the Rock And Roll Rumble’s preliminary night number four, we hinted that Abbie Barrett has the chops, songs, and Boston rock pedigree to win the whole damn thing. Barrett took home Singer-Songwriter of the Year in last year’s Boston Music Awards (while also being nominated for Best Female Vocalist), her November single “That Shame” has enough oomph to shake the chandelier over at ONCE Ballroom in Somerville, and a supporting cast that includes Ed Valauskas (Gravel Pit, The Gentlemen, Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents) and Josh Kiggans (Girls, Guns, & Glory) is enough to make lazy writers toss around the time-honored “supergroup” tag.
Today, Barrett is back on our digital front page with her new music video for “Take It In Stride”, a clip that finds the musician down in the lab working on some sort of love potion, while surfacing at ground level to jam out at newly-minted rock club Thunder Road in Somerville.
Barrett’s doings in the lab become a bit clearer as she describes the lyrical meaning behind “Take It In Stride”, which she says “comes from that familiar feeling most of us have when we see an ex date someone else: we want to fuck shit up.”
Barrett adds: “Usually we take it out on ourselves, going mad trying to figure out why it didn’t work — and/or drinking heavily. And with any failed relationship, there’s always this sense of, ‘Well, here we go again.’ It can start to feel a bit routine, which is what the chorus is all about. It’s a break-up song, with a kooky video to match.”
That kookiness comes from the Leesa Coyne, who directed and edited the video, with EmVision Productions serving as director oh photography. Watch “Take It In Stride” below, and take note: Barrett appears at the Rumble next week, Thursday, April 7, battling it out with I Was Awake, 21st Century Fugitives, and Johnny Blazes and the Pretty Boys.