Although there are an absolute shedload of bands to get your teeth into in Southern California, not many of them hook into the absolute weirdness of the area; the geographical juxtapositions – sea and mountains in close proximity; pine forests looming over city scapes; the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, filled with cars and people and yet coyotes and mountain lions also call the sprawling metropolis home.
As much as we think we know the SoCal sound, breezy, sun and salt-drenched, ASHRR turn their backs against the coast, and instead find their focus in the interior. There’s an excitement and veritable paranoia to their music, which has more in common with Krautrock and Berlin-era Bowie than it does surf music, and yet the SoCal psych sound is still there, cementing ASHRR solidly within the Golden State.
Director Keith Musil shares ASHRRs aesthetic and puts his imagination and power to the test when bringing the band’s visions to the screen. He’s worked in the past with the likes of Kid Moxie, The Kooks, and Tennis, as well as collaborating with ASHRR on a number of videos which capture the oddness – some would say uncanniness – of Southern California. ‘All Yours All Mine’ (Darker Days Mix), is his most recent video he’s made for the band, and it’s a pure expression of the uncertainty and mystery that is so prevalent in ASHRRs music. The clip focuses on a restless man who is alone in a beautiful house deep in the pine forest, where he’s stalked by clones of himself, all of whom appear to exist outside of time. The man is sometimes aware of their presence, and other times he’s just cognisant of something being wrong. At the peak of the video he stares back at the camera, seeing something we don’t – adding further to the mysteriousness of the entire clip.
We feature a second collaboration between Musil and ASHRR, for their song ‘Don’t Wait Too Long’. The title enough is filled with ominous overtones, and the video shows an attractive yet spectral woman around the sun-drenched streets of Crestline and Lake Gregory. The area is only a short drive from San Bernadino, but it feels like it’s on another world. The woman is headed for a roller skating rink in the desert, and is also seen in front of a set of derelict old buildings, as well as nearing a wall filled with family photographs. Mysterious, enigmatic, and downright creepy in parts, it’s the perfect match for the song.
You can find out more about ASHRR from their official website.
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