New Videos from Trying, Julian Fulton, and A Giant Dog

A Giant Dog released a new video yesterday.

Friday Round-Up

Here are a few videos for your Friday.

Trying, "Marathon of Fright"

Back in July, we premiered "21" from Trying, the mostly solo project of Cameron Carr. The song struck a chord with me both for its subject matter (being the introverted wallflower at a party) and its slightly twee, indie pop sound. Since then, Trying have relocated from Columbus, OH to Brooklyn; and, today, they're releasing a Halloween-themed double A-side single, "Marathon of Fright" / "Nobody Loves Halloween Like You Do."

In a video, the one-minute "Marathon of Fright" scores the 1950s horror trailer that inspired it. Carr almost whispers over some spooky organ on the song which he calls "Halloween for the ordinary folks that don't want to be scared out of their pants."

"Nobody Loves Halloween Like You Do" is more familiar territory for Trying, indie pop in the vein of Belle and Sebastian or The Smiths (As a matter of fact, the title feels like it could have come from a lost Smiths track).

"Marathon of Fright" / "Nobody Loves Halloween Like You Do" is available today over at Trying's Bandcamp page. You can also watch the short "Marathon of Fright" video.



Julian Fulton, "Howl"

Julian Fulton released his solo EP, Battered Receptions, in the spring. One of the standout tracks from that set is the bluesy "Howl." Well, there's quite a bit more to the song than simply being "bluesy." Fulton shows a great deal of range on the EP, and much of that is on display in "Howl."

Last week, the song got a video directed by Sergio Casal. Casal elevates the simple performance video through the use of color and silhouette. The combination of sound and visuals on this one is pretty powerful.

Battered Receptions is out now.



A Giant Dog, "Lucky Ponderosa"

For my money, A Giant Dog are the finest rock and roll band in America right now. They will always hold a special place in my heart as one of the first bands I saw live during the toughest time in my life. That night of screaming and sweating along with the band was like an outstretched hand I could grab onto to keep from drowning.

Anyway.

They released a video yesterday for Toy track "Lucky Ponderosa." The Sean Daigle-directed clip does its best to capture the life-affirming energy of A Giant Dog's live performance as it follows the band on their way to what must have been an insane release show in their hometown of Austin.

I'm assuming (hoping) that A Giant Dog will be in Austin during SXSW 2018, and I can't think of anything I'd enjoy more than catching a set from them every day for a week.

Toy is out now on Merge Records.