First Watch: Low, 'Plastic Cup'
June 13, 2013
"Plastic Cup," the moody opening cut to Low's latest album, The Invisible Way, recalls a friend's substance abuse, a lifetime of dependence on others and a soul-crushing future of pointless drug tests. But in a strange new video for the song, director Ryley Fogg takes those themes in a dark and curious direction. Creepy, hooded figures intercut with black-and-white images of the band performing in period costumes.
It takes a while to realize that the alien creatures seen in the video are actually massive giants. And the band is playing inside a glitter-filled snow globe. Frontman Alan Sparhawk sneers sarcastically and rolls his eyes through every line, before the band breaks into a kaleidoscopic dance, shot overhead, like something out of a Busby Berkley film.
"I have known director Ryley Fogg since we were in a band together in college called 3D Psycho Paisley," Sparhawk tells us via email. "The video imagery draws heavily on the look of the first 'talkies,' taking the band thru a psychedelic, alien encounter from outside our little sparkly world."
Low performs Saturday, June 15th at Rock the Garden.
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