The forthcoming debut album by Irish quartet Girl Band is eagerly anticipated by many fans of atonal noise-rock.
The Dublin band release 'Holding Hands with Jamie' on Rough Trade on September 25th, and also play Electric Picnic early next month.
Now, they have made the stylish video for their new single 'Paul' available online, and you can watch it below.
It was directed by previous collaborator Bob Gallagher, who said of the concept: "The idea came about from shooting an audition tape for my friend Kate for a kids' TV show job. She'd curse if a take didn't work out, which in the context I thought was hilarious. I've often watched kids TV with my Goddaughters, and every time I do I can't help but wonder what it's like for the actors behind the scenes. What the dynamics are like? There's such a sheen on those shows of happiness that I thought it would be interesting to look at the flip side of that with a character who is full of self loathing but has to literally wear a big grin on his face.
"While I was researching I watched a documentary about Big Bird and there's a line in it where Caroll Spinney says that a woman was complimenting his performance but that she couldn't see that inside the costume he was crying. It's quite tragic. I think everyone has experiences of having to put on an outward expression and feeling trapped, so Paul's costume is a visual extension of that. He's inside the suit, at a distance from everybody around him, but wearing this absurd smile that's totally false to what's going on inside.
"When the pressure of living that life comes to a head he gets to be himself, and in a bizarre way he gets acceptance from his hero Big Rooster, so I see it as a bizarre but happy ending.”