Hailing from the southern music Mecca of Nashville, TN, indie artist Slark Moan is the latest artist to combine modern alternative rock with touches of decades-old psychedelia and chamber pop. Today, we’ve got the premiere of the video for his latest song, a catchy, compact and thoughtfully-arranged track called “Working Stiff.” The video features stop-motion clay animal figures, telling a tragic tale of destruction. Slark Moan is the psuedonym of singer-songwriter Mark Sloan – see what he did there? – and he recently released a new album under the name, a record called Superstition for the Consumer Romantic, which was released last month.
The video starts with a serene scene of adorable clay animals living together in what appears to be an idyllic setting. Bears, turtles, what looks like an emu, a snail and a variety of birds go about their days in relatively banal fashion. Then about halfway through the video a volcano erupts and their worlds are turned upside down. As the music transitions to an instrumental bridge, the scene transitions to an icy landscape with seals finding their ice sheets melting and breaking apart. Meanwhile, the bear makes his way to this frozen tundra to escape his own burned-up world, only to be greeted by a very-unhappy walrus, being chased off the frame as the song comes to a conclusion.
The song features simple yet upbeat drumming, adding a touch of pep to the mostly mid-tempo song. As Slark Moan sings about being a “working stiff / trying to make a buck / feelin’ trapped / yeah I’m feelin’ stuck in my own skin,” the guitars are sparingly strummed, the bass occasionally burbling into the mix. During the chorus the guitars begin to swirl together and the drumming beat begins tumbling around itself, making just enough room for some psychedelic organ tones to add a touch of color to the earworm of a chorus. The song’s instrumental bridge features a twisting and turning guitar solo that recalls Oh Sees performing in their more dream-pop style.
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