Oakland’s soulful rockabilly trio Shannon and the Clams sing a karaoke ballad with a pack of misfits in their new video for “The Point of Being Right”. Shannon Shaw takes on various personas in the video, from a laid-back, leather-jacket-clad apathetic man to the ultimate glamorous vision of her bleached blonde self. Guitarist Cody Blanchard directs the lively scene with a snazzy, dressed-up crew that belt their hearts out in a purging, impassioned ballad. Shaw’s emotionally raw lyrics are a perfect fit for the karaoke setting.
Shaw’s brassy alto-vocals are striking and instantly mesmerizing with their ruthless spunk. Her voice is full of pain, uneasiness and introspection as she wails and shouts, “you’re hiding something big from me / something I’ve chosen not to see / my instincts kept me up at night.” Shaw traces the apprehension and the endless dread of fractured realties that that can be buried within a doomed relationship. The song is carried by an outburst of bluesy riffs and mid-60’s psychedelic rock. Steady drums and a swingy guitar lick embellish Shaw’s emotive crescendo as she whoops and yelps, “What’s the point of being right?” Shaw delivers her obtuse lyrics with a punch that is bold and soulful, making it the perfect post-breakup karaoke jam.
“The Point of Being Right” is a track from the group’s forthcoming LP Gone By The Dawn, produced by Sonny Smith, and will be released September 11 via Hardly Art.
