Video Age
New Orleans’ Video Age share Blushing the final single off of their forthcoming third album, Pleasure Line, due 7th August via Winspear.
Photo credit: Alex H. Payne
“Blushing” is an ‘80s-inspired, romantic track which the band describe as “A song about deep, passionate love that lasts forever."
Molly Valdez & Judson Valdez (The Valdez) Who directed the accompanying video say of the video “Our concept for the Blushing music video follows one person through their hazy night out, searching for the feeling of romance. They carry a bouquet of roses with them all night while they sit at the bar, drink, write little notes on napkins (the song lyrics) and dance, waiting for the moment of the night to happen. By the end of the night, they've found what they were looking for. We filmed the video through the course of one day using several old 90s handycams, writing the song lyrics on hundreds of napkins, and destroying multiple bouquets of roses.”
Just as “love” is both a noun and a verb, Pleasure Line is both a road to be traveled and the act of crossing that road. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Ross Farbe says, “Once you cross that threshold and become vulnerable in love, there’s a whole new challenge. There’s a reason that song comes first on the album, because the rest of the songs exist in that place.” These catchy, memorable songs radiate big “glass half-full” energy.
Video Age’s third album, due out from Winspear on August 7th, 2020, pairs neon-bright 80s pop melodies with a vast range of influences (including Janet Jackson, David Bowie, and Paul McCartney) to create an optimistic sound all their own. The influences vary song to song, but they’re all tinted with the same rosy hue, and Ross says, “I’m often trying to create a more idealised version of the world I’m in.” Video Age’s first two albums were about loneliness and discovering oneself, but Pleasure Line takes on a whole new attitude, considering both Ross and songwriting partner Ray Micarelli are getting married this year (just a few weeks apart from each other, too). “We’re feeling the love,” Ray says, laughing.
But these aren’t expressions of one-dimensional puppy love—this is euphoria with depth, ecstasy with complications. In the twinkling “Comic Relief,” Ross sings, “I know the world is killing me / I love you baby, can’t you see / Ain’t nothing but a comedy.” And in the funk-inspired “Shadow on the Wall,” Ross sings, “I got the gloom, baby, covering me / Cuz you’re a cruel silhouette as could be.” Darkness is always lurking somewhere beneath happiness, but in the Video Age, even melancholy sounds like something you can dance to.
