Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers is back with a new music video for “What Are You Gonna Do,” a track from his upcoming studio album Born Stupid, out on February 12 via Shimmy Disc/Joyful Noise. This new music video was directed by Leary himself.
“What Are You Gonna Do,” is an amalgamation of trippy psychedelic clips that merge into the unholy as Leary’s face randomly appears and disintegrates into the abyss. This psychedelic hellscape is greeted by the song’s unique blend of punk and indie rock, with pop like tempos and progressions, contrasted heavily with Leary’s deep, satanic-like vocals. Toward the end of the song it sounds like it might end with an ethereal guitar line, but it soon gets swallowed by brooding ambiance.
“I wasn’t planning on making another album, but over the years songs kept popping into my head. So I figured I might as well record them,” Leary said in a press release,
Born Stupid will serve as one of the first new releases by the relaunched Shmmy-Disc, which was founded by producer and musician Mark Kramer, better known as Kramer. The label is best known for signing legendary indie acts such as Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500 and King Missile.
Leary is joined by drummer John Freese throughout the Born Stupid, who has worked with performers such as The Vandals, Guns N’ Roses, and Devo. Many of the album’s themes are reflective of contemporary American culture, which are reflected in the title-track’s lyrics “With so much strife and peril in this world I’d like to help make things better. But, instead, I had to be born stupid.”
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