In a lot of ways, shooting the video for an fuzzed-out pop song inside of an antique shop makes a lot of sense. Such will prove true for Dead Stars’ tense, yet beautifully fuzz-laden song, “Stay Here”, off their LP, Bright Colors, which came out earlier this year on Weird Tree Records. The video, filmed on location at Williamsburg’s Eclectic Collectibles and Antiques, and directed by bassist John Watterberg, depicts the three-piece sitting, waiting, almost as though in an outrageous purgatory, among the strange, forgotten treasures, their instruments held in their laps. Their countenances are perturbed, to say the least, if not confused, as the camera alternates between them and the bizarre scenery.
The song starts off as peaceful as the taxidermied animals that populate the shop. A raccoon, stuffed moose and zebra heads, a monkey, give way to the more bizarre likes of animal skulls and tribal masks, a case full of glass eyes and religious icons, to name a few things. It’s hard to keep up with all there is to see in this wild shop. The fuzz kicks on and the tranquil mood of the video kind of shatters, giving way to an anxiety reflected in the band’s facial expressions. And yet, they maintain a calm composure, taking a moment to regain the ascending melodic structure of the verse, in the chaotic mix of the chorus, and echoing emphatically, “It’s alright!” And suddenly, in one shot, they disappear. Makes a pretty grim, but pretty great case for antique shopping.
