In some circles (the best circles, really), you might say that 2017 was the year of Palberta. Having released their ace full length, Bye Bye Berta, and the Chips For Dinner Split with No One And The Somebodies (both out on Wharf Cat Records and Ramp Local), and extensive touring in between, the trio of noisemakers never slowed down. And holy heck, they ran the year down to the wire, squeezing all they could out of it, and dropping one last video from that stellar latter Split. “NANA” is the skewed nightmare version of the childhood taunt you thought (or wished) you’d forgotten, thrown on its head and transformed into a most unruly pop lullaby. The visuals, directed by Jonah Peterschild, open with the band members’ faces, bathed in black, the exasperated melody brushing past your memory in a whisper, blinking and grimacing as the twang of guitar intensifies and the drums kick in. Your eye starts to twitch and then CUT to a title screen, the lost sound of film reels resonates as though they’re screening flashbacks of youth, stained by the consciousness of adulthood.
Fade in, in almost blinding white, the trio is hunched over, wiggling their arms and heads loose, anticipating the ritualistic dance to come. The theme comes back for one last haunt, this time with playful vocals asking, “Where do you come from?” and “How you feeling today?” They’re upright and moving in unison, for a moment. Like their music, their movements will align with one another one moment, and the next they’ll be more individualistic and chaotic. Yet it all makes this kind of unnerving sense, together. You can choose your own adventure, one of anxiety, or one of frivolity. Or maybe you can find a little of one in the other.
