The Melvins have debuted the Mackie Osborne directed video for “Embrace The Rub” ahead of the April 20 release of their new album Pinkus Abortion Technician (Ipecac Recordings).
’Embrace The Rub’ is a Steven McDonald penned, punker tune throwback to his days as a young Hawthorne, CA punk hanging out with Black Flag. The video is functionally a 1 minute commercial for their new album and a confusing menagerie of video and images.
The video maintains a frenetic pace, the cuts keeping up with the fast moving notes of the guitar. The piece is content to bombard the viewer with seemingly random images; a roaring tiger, a porcelain doll, spotlights, wind turbines, a life-size dancing racoon with large testicles — each image overlaps the next while interspersed portraits of the band members run by quickly in succession. All of this is inlaid under/over the bombast of numerous fireworks and explosions. It’s an aural assault, so weird as to almost be subversive and suggestive.
If there is an ulterior motive to this video besides spamming ‘Against the Rub’ its not readily apparent — but it’s certainly succeeding at accomplishing the former.
Photo credit: Raymond Flotat
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