By Charlie Maybee
Ontario based indie rock band, The Northwest, bring pop-punk realness to the forefront with their latest music video for “Long Hair (Longer Nights)”.
The video captures the feel of a live concert as the band takes to the stage of a small venue ready to muster up all the good vibes and nostalgia they can. With a small crowd gathered towards the front of the stage with beers in hand, there’s an undeniable yearning for a full return to live rock shows. “This song was written for people pent-up to go to concerts and hang out with their fellow rock and roll loving friends” the band writes, “it’s our tribute to why music is important and how it brings people together!”
Aside from the multi-camera shots and editing, this is video that revels in its authenticity. There’s no immediate agenda or deeper message beyond a need for good friends, good tunes, and good times. It doesn’t feature any fancy filters or effect, just the lightning of live performance in a jar as they howl and shred their way through a tune laden with nostalgia.
“The city is on fire / now the animals are out of their cage / we got long hair / longer than nights will soon be” Wayne Watkins sings through the first verse. As a metaphor for a worn-down pack of humans making their way out of lockdown, there is a feral need for cathartic release and as the production elements of the music are peeled back before the final chorus, we hear the communal desperation for more physical connections.
“Long Hair (Longer Nights)” is available now on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and BandCamp. The accompanying music video is also available on YouTube. Find this and more great music on the Alchemical Records Multigenre Mixture playlist on Spotify and YouTube.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
