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To celebrate the release of its new, self-titled record, Gauntlet Hair (confirmed as the headliner for the Larimer Lounge’s New Years Eve show) has dropped a video for the album’s lead track, “Keep Time,” and despite Halloween having come and gone, this sucker will still scare the bejeesus out of you if you watch it with the lights off (which you should).
Directed by Bernardo Pantoja and Skyler Stevensen, the video tracks a bunch of people running around in terrifying face paint and creepy contact lenses on the streets of Portland, while Gauntlet Hair provides an accurate soundtrack to the freakiness. There’s something of a story being told here, but it’s a bit hard to make out between the fuzzed out lens effects and quick cuts.
Judging by the repeated frames of a purple glowing mirror being held by the Ozzy Osbourne lookalike, there’s some type of magic happening here. There’s also plenty of smashing going on by the painted kids, so maybe it’s really just the sequel to The Crow hidden inside a folky-pop music video. Either way, it’s a bit terrifying if you crank it up.
For its part, the song holds true to what we’ve come to expect from the band, which is to say, it sounds a bit like early Animal Collective, but that act is starting to get away from the easy comparison with “Keep Time.” The line is not as clear as it used to be. The tune is still packed with a ton of reverb and screechy falsetto crooning, but the hook keeps the song from gazing too deep into the abyss. It’s a fantastic video no matter how you cut it, and it’s best viewed full screen with the lights dimmed.
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