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CMU Approved
Approved: Moaning
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 18 January 2018
Moaning are a band who are very good at making a lasting first impression. The video for their debut single, ‘The Same’, was cut together from various performances of the song as the house they were in was demolished around them. Achieving this striking result was as easy as them asking if they could set up their equipment in a house they discovered was about to be torn down, and then inviting some friends around with sledgehammers.
It’s not something you forget quickly, and it started a chain of events that got their debut album into the hands of Sub Pop. That album is now set for release on 2 Mar.
Good videos are great – and Moaning now have several – but without good songs there’s not much scope for sticking in people’s minds long term. However, any concerns of style over substance are brushed aside by their first two singles for Sub Pop, ‘Don’t Go’ and the newly released ‘Artificial’. Both heave with cathartic energy, with frontman Sean Solomon’s vocal melodies grinding pleasingly up against his guitar riffs.
Back to videos though, and Solomon says of the one they’ve made for ‘Artificial’: “The video mirrors the themes of insincerity and artificiality in the song. To shoot the video we used practical effects to warp the viewer’s perception of what’s happening. It was appropriately shot in Los Angeles on 35mm film, much like other disingenuous Hollywood productions”.
Watch the video for ‘Artificial’ here:
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