Greg Dulli, frontman for The Afghan Whigs, shared a new music video for his song “Lockless.” It’s one of the tracks from his first solo album in fifteen years, Random Desire, which came out in February.

In the video, a drone documents the empty New Orleans streets from peak COVID-19 lockdown in spring this year. Streetlights shine for no one except director Bailey Smith, cameraman Zak Super and the occasional passing car. The drone eventually rises above the city and returns to see it isn’t much busier come sunrise.

“I was in New Orleans during the curfew period after Katrina and would come out into the Quarter about an hour before it lifted, thinking ‘it’s like the twilight zone,’” Dulli commented.  “When this original lockdown occurred, I immediately recalled that moment in time and wanted to document it.  Like a lot of cities around the world, the absence of people in normally bustling places is very jarring and ghostly.  The song itself suggests a loneliness and I felt the marriage between the song and these images was too perfect not to explore.”

An electronic drum loop starts the track off and a brassy synth and deep bass fill the instrumental out. Dulli comes in on vocals about a minute in with the lines, “You’ll be the end of me/So fragile, undone by the storm.” It’s a passionate performance that builds along with the instrumental. A real brass section comes in halfway through for an emotional climax and trumpet solo.

Dulli had previously released music videos for lead singles “Pantomima” and “It Falls Apart.” His previous single before them was a 2018 cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Christmas.” The Afghan Whigs’ last album was 2017’s In Spades.

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat