New York’s Phenomenal Handclap Band have definitely got my attention. Barely two weeks ago, we posted their new single “Following,” and now we’re posting a video for yet another song from the band’s upcoming album, Form & Control . This one’s for the rather oddly-titled track “The Unknown Faces At Father James Park.”
The band says of the video: As a teenager, Father James Park was the local park where my friends and I were able to go and not be bothered by our parents or other authority figures. We used to meet there as often as possible to hang out and clear our minds, and since there were no adults around, it also became the place we’d go to expand our minds.
The Unknown Faces at Father James Park is about the inherent peer pressure, confusion, and tumultuous times that teenagers have.
For the video, we thought the best way to reflect this subject matter would be to edit together found footage along the lines of the various PSA’s we were subjected to in high school. They were so humorless and terrifying at the time, but looking back, it was a lot of unnecessary warning against what turned out to be healthy experimentation.
Um…okay. Well, the song is pretty groovy, and the video has a very early 80s “Electric Company”/public access kids show vibe to it. I dig it. Looking forward to hearing Form & Control in it’s entirety when it’s released on February 14th.