Portland experimental dark pop trio We Are Parasols return with a thundering industrial nightmare, the single (and accompanying video) “Waste.”
“It’s personal to us and however you interpret it or whatever it makes you feel should be personal to you, says the band. ” “We spent a lot of time, not just writing and producing “Waste,” but considering our intention behind the song and how it fits with our other work…Once the recording and mixing was done, D came up with the idea for the video and we spent another huge chunk of time and energy making sure that the video is not only a good visual match for the song but that it adds to the impact, and they make one whole, complete artwork.”
The video is an intense glimpse at a moment of pure despair, rage, and violent breakdown—the primal scream of the collective as we grapple with unending barrages of bad news, intense aggression, and the darkness of humanity. It acts as a visual exorcism for society’s dark night of the soul. It is timely, emotional, and empathic, with a phenomenal performance of those sinister voices creeping into our subconscious. The clip was shot on an iPhone with a homemade Snorricam rig in collaboration with cinematographer Jason Roark and special effects makeup artist Amber Arpin.
Watch the video for “Waste” below:
We are Parasols formed in 2010 when Jeremy Wilkins (Rosewater Elizabeth, underwater, Allegra Gellar) began a solo project named simply, Parasols—the name inspired by a passage from Joan Didion’s memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking. In 2011, after he and D began a relationship, he suggested D become part of the project, turning Parasols into a duo. After some personal growth and changes, they recruited Alec Yeager. The new trio decided to change its name to We Are Parasols to signify a new level of partnership and commitment to the project and each other.
We Are Parasols began as an indie-electronic, shoegaze band, semi-jokingly referring to themselves as “post-goth.” While the shoegaze elements have remained a touchstone for the band’s sound, the trio continues to expand their sound by blending in industrial, metal, choral, hip-hop, and pop elements.
You can purchase the new single “Waste” here:
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