Sadness and sorrow come and go
One thing remains
That’s being alone
Salem, Massachusetts, Identical Palms’ latest video, “Don’t Fear the Pain,” unfolds like a lost reel from a 1970s grindhouse theatre—equal parts sleazy, stylish, and strangely transcendent. Directed by Travis Gianatassio, the clip blurs the line between B-movie parody and gothic tragedy, conjuring the lurid spirit of Giallo cinema through cracked film textures, blood-spattered tension, and a wink of gallows humour.
Before the first note strikes, we’re introduced to an oily, old-school music-video director straight out of the sleazier corners of the Reagan era. He stumbles around the band’s studio space, sniffing excessively and mentioning that he needs to fetch his “stuff”—not, as he insists, his camera gear. When he vanishes to chase his powdery muse, the bemused band waits in silence until someone sparks a joint…and the music hits.
What follows is a feverish descent into cult horror iconography: flickering neon, Argento green, and cheap motel lighting, and cross-cuts of performance and peril. The band thrashes in a haze of red and purple glow while unseen menace creeps closer. By the time the knife flashes and the final frame fades, “Don’t Fear the Pain” has paid homage to every midnight-movie trope with reverence and grit.
Musically, the track is an icy, soaring slice of gothic rock—a dirge shot through with adrenaline. Sweeping, angular guitars shift between melody and menace; the bassline rumbles like a distant storm; drums pulse with ritual intensity. Over it all, Mandy Kirlis’s powerful vocals soar and fracture, embodying the song’s meditation on loneliness and endurance:
Watch the video for “Don’t Fear The Pain” below:
“Don’t Fear the Pain” comes from Identical Palms’ debut album Beyond the Dark, a nine-track collection that distills the band’s affinity for post-punk melancholy and sweeping gothic grandeur. With a lineage that stretches back to Eyes on Satellites, the Massachusetts outfit—formed by Will Lopez (guitar, vocals) and Daniel Matthew (bass)—solidified in 2020 with the additions of Mandy Kirlis (vocals), Justin Goodrich (guitar), and Bill Kurtz (drums). Their evolution has been steeped in the moody romanticism of Concrete Blonde, The Cure, Joy Division, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
In 2026, Identical Palms promise to push their boundaries even further—both sonically and visually. For now, “Don’t Fear the Pain” is a perfect gateway into their morose and macabre world: a reminder that the best way through the darkness is to look it square in the eye.
Beyond The Dark is out now. Listen below and order here.
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