How badly do we want the glory we seek? Badly enough to be thrown into a terrifying situation where crashing at the home of someone we've never met, rife with old board games, a magnetic but dangerous hostess, and a person who think they're a housecat drinking milk from a bowl?
Portland quartet the Shivas have been chasing glory and melting faces all over the world for the past 13 years with their often-eerie brand of psychedelic garage rock. "Gloria," the first single from their forthcoming full-length Dark Thoughts, (their debut release for Tender Loving Empire), finds the guitar interplay of Jared Molyneux and Jeff Boyardee twisting and tangling around Molyneux and drummer Kristin Leonard's vocal harmonies.
The punch of the rhythm section, Leonard and bassist Eric Shanafelt, give the song an irresistible heft and measured forward propulsion. The song's theme of personal success – i.e. chasing glory – flows throughout the song like the reverb slightly trailing from the vocals. Gloria's attention is sought after in the classic manner of our favorite dirt-speckled rock songs.
The video for "Gloria," directed with illuminating visuals by Yr First Crush, finds the veteran band trying to find a place to stay for the night with an acquaintance who passes out after promising to set them up with lodging. An empty glass and an extinguished joint are left sitting bored in an apartment with a book about primitive erotic art.
Meanwhile, three of the band's four members sit on a couch and drink a beverage more than likely spiked with LSD (what goes into the drink is blurred out, but it provokes some serious hallucinations). There are amulets and ritual sacrifice, a couple of spectacular head wounds, pink fields, a cat-person with a taste for blood, and a final image I will politely decline to reveal. You'll have to see it for yourself.
Singer/guitarist Jared Molyneux offered a few words about "Gloria." Underneath is the video itself.
"Gloria - The cost of striving for glory. Is it worth it?
"It's the familiar setting of a band on tour looking for a place to stay for the night. This video is an homage to all the folks who have let us stay at their house on tour. We met Claude, who shot and directed the video, while we were on tour when someone told us we could stay at his house without asking him. He was cool with it anyway and has since become one of our best friends. This video is that scenario but gone horribly wrong. Often staying with a friend of a friend (or strangers) we’re not exactly sure what we’re getting ourselves into. This has happened to us many times, but we have never stayed with anyone quite like Gloria … but almost."
Dark Thoughts, the new album by the Shivas, will be released October 25 on Tender Loving Empire. You can pre-order the album here.
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