Minneapolis trio Bad Bad Hats have released a video for the song “Midway” off their first full length Psychic Reader out on Afternoon Records. Psychic Reader isn’t as much a departure for the band as much as it is a development. The songs are still sprawling and energetic, but better production and sharp songwriting have offered a more spacious take on the band’s sound. Starting off with a simple drum beat and dreamier guitar lines “Midway,” the album’s opener, highlights some of the sonic changes the band has made since the release of the home recorded Grow Up EP in 2012. Kerry Alexander’s unique inflection and coy delivery on lines like “I wish that you would ask me if I’m feeling alright / The shadows you were casting nearly swallowed the night” weave themselves around the verse’s simpler instrumentation.
The video itself keeps things pretty straightforward. Alexander, with makeup running down her cheeks, looks straight into the camera while the rest of the band broods into oblivion. As the guitar kicks in the video cuts to the band playing along to the song with their instruments. As the chorus comes and the song takes on a certain confidence the band, dressed more casually, just doesn’t appear to hate life as much. Eventually the images on the screen start to double, then triple….and soon it’s like looking at them through a kaleidoscope. The way that the light moves makes the band look like they’re playing a high school prom, if cool bands played conceptual sets equipped with wardrobe changes at high school proms, if cool bands played proms at ever.
