Pop-punk outfit Velour Academy began as a duo in Los Angeles, featuring musicians Jamil Kassimali (bass, guitar, pulsar synth, songwriting) and Shannon Martinez (vocals, songwriting). Matt Calderon later joined them on drums, with Itzel Palacios on keys and backing vocals, along with guitarist Justin Hall. And now, with Zoe Scott joining the band, Velour Academy has released the minimalist yet powerful track “all alone” along with a deeply emotional video clip.
With a sound similar to 90s acts like Liz Phair, Jill Sobule, Throwing Muses, and Juliana Hatfield, Velour Academy is a most welcome flashback, firmly rooted in modernity.
The video is simple: a woman, played by Averie Groleau-Cmelo, tear-stained and still in night clothes, slowly cleans up various messes in her home as the lyrics detail a breakup of sorts. Each item feels symbolic as it is placed where it lives in that home: a teapot, a pillow, a plant, a globe. At the end, the exhausted-looking woman brings a little baby into the room. Is the song about the frustrations of motherhood? Loss of a partner or mother figure? The general feeling of loss? The interpretation is as oblique as it is mysterious, and endearing. Director Evan Snyder keeps things vaguely unsettling.
Watch the video for “All Alone” below:
Velour Academy released their first proper album, “OOZE,” in 2017. The group’s second full-length, entitled “CHISME,” was originally self-released by the band in 2021 and has now been adopted by Denver, CO-based label Snappy Little Numbers.
Order CHISME here on pink cassette and vinyl.
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