Given the directness of its title, you might think “Something Not Worth Doing” would be a song centered around cynicism, or at least some feeling of discontent. After all, post-punk rockers the Pierres are no strangers to gloom and doom, and if something isn’t worth doing then what’s the point of it anyway? Once those bouncy keys come carousing in, however, it’s hard not to let the sunshine beam in. This isn’t to say the track is all positive vibes and rainbows, of course. But it is guided by a steady determination to peer beyond the looming clouds and lend a helping hand.
“[It’s] about supporting people you care for during times of duress,” the band offers in an email. “It stands in contrast to the darkness and conflict present on the rest of the album.” Taken from the Athens quartet’s forthcoming LP, It’s All Oh, the track is unabashedly buoyant, an infectious stream of propulsive rhythms and cautious self-affirmations: “Just want to be close to what I love, and not what I’m afraid of,” guitarist/vocalist Marshall Reed sings at one point. It’s a simple sentiment, but couched in the quartet’s joyous racket, it feels like a revelation.
Photographed and edited by Tyler Ortel, the video doesn’t exactly tie everything together in a neat bow. The clip combines performance footage with a surreal side story centered around an ostrich puppet, fishing, and… kidnapping and murder? What it all means is anyone’s guess; maybe there’s a glint of cynicism lurking in there after all.
Watch/listen above.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jesse Mangum at the Glow Recording Studio, It’s All Oh is scheduled for release in summer 2022.
The Pierres will celebrate the release of the “Something Not Worth Doing” video tomorrow night, Apr. 9, at the Flicker Theatre & Bar alongside Nihilist Cheerleader and Kwazymoto. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $10. 18+ to enter.
More Info
Web: www.thepierres.org
Bandcamp: thepierres2.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @the3pierres
Instagram: @thepierres