Anyone with experience will tell you relationships are difficult. While the initial spark that draws two people together is generally built on mutual appreciation and attraction, the longer a couple remain united, the more the reverse can come true. We all have our faults, quirks, and hangups, and engaging in any sort of longterm commitment means sharing the most toxic part of ourselves along with the healthy and good.
By title alone, “Late Summer High” may suggest a sunny and breezy anthem or perhaps a nostalgic trip filtered through the wistful lens of the past. And indeed, listening to the propulsive stomp and four-on-the-floor verve that guides the new single from Atlanta rockers Bird Laww, you might get the impression that the band was striving for exactly that. But the truth, as is so often the case with songs about broken love, is much darker and complex.
“It’s about a relationship that has been tainted by depression, anger, and instability,” explains guitarist and vocalist Jeff Konzal. “It’s about being so lost and mentally absent that your partner starts to resent you, and eventually totally checks out emotionally. It happens to the best of us, and honestly I believe is just another part of life sometimes. You either work it out, and on your own issues, or call it quits and wish the best for them… no matter how much you love or want them.”
Filmed by Nick Landon of Uppercut Films, the video doesn’t spend its time attempting to capture the emotional turmoil outlined in the track; instead it focuses its attention on footage of the group performing in their practice space and in the back of a pickup truck circling their Atlanta neighborhood. It’s an approach that helps highlight the song’s biting tension and stirring hooks, but perhaps more importantly, it captures the intimacy that exists between the band itself.
“The only significance of the video is that the neighborhood we’re riding around in is where I spent a lot of time healing from some fucked up stuff that happened, referenced in the song,” Konzal says. “And the people you’re looking at in the video helped me get through the worst times of my life. Literally my best friends in the world.”
Watch/listen above.
More Info
Bandcamp: birdlawwatl.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @birdlaww
Instagram: @birdlaww
Twitter: @birdlawwmusic