Psychedelic synth-goth outfit Bronze have unveiled the video for “People Watching People”, a song from the group’s new album Compliance, their first LP to be released by John Dwyer Castle’s face
Dubbed the “real-deal weirdo kings of San Francisco” by Dwyer himself, the San Francisco band comprised of Brian D. Hock, Rob Spector and Miles Friction, have been conjuring strange psychedelic sounds from another dimension for the past decade, drawing comparisons to Silver Apples, Legendary Pink Dots or the sounds and vision invoked by Davie Bowie at the lowest and most avant-garde point of his career.
“People Watching People” is sinister and unsettling, feeling like a lost Nash the Slash opus, bolstered by the otherworldly incantations courtesy of Rob Spector whose vocal lament is made all the more foreboding with the track’s bizarre synths and palpitating drums.
Regarding the phantasmagoric scene that is the song’s video, Rob Specter explains:
“It was just shot in a garage with multiple cameras, some props(people magazine), and the loose concept was just us playing and the viewer “watching people” through a fractured lens so to speak. The inspiration was just costumes, a fog machine, slides, projections, posturing, and just put em all together for a video soup and then Michele edited the madness.”
Watch the video for Bronze’s “People Watching People” below:
Along with the premiere, we spoke with Rob Spector about the song, video, and new album.
How did it feel to share your first album in quite some time this month? Are there any tracks that stick out to you as songs you’re particularly proud of/excited about?
It felt great, it was a long train coming, our last album came out seven years ago and was on the Spanish label, B.F.E. records, so it was mostly distributed in Europe and not as much in the U.S., so this feels different, in a good way. I’d say we’re equally excited about all the tracks on the album.
How would you say your relationship with Castle Face has impacted your output?
Castle Face has been very supportive of us through the years, so I think any time you have support like that, it impacts your output, makes the songwriting easier, which we now have about half of a new album written or an EP pretty much done, just needs to be recorded.
With regard to translating “People Watching People” into a visual format, how did you go about conceptualizing and executing that?
It was pretty organic, there really wasn’t much planning per se, just an unsaid understanding that we would have different cameras, props, etc to play around with a variety of shots, let her rip, and then Michele did an excellent job of editing the madness into a cohesive narrative that fit with the track. It was very nicely effortless and seamless.
How are you all feeling about your upcoming fall tour? Any tracks that you’re most excited to play live?
We’re really excited about the fall tour, not only will we have the songs on the album to play, but we have a newer batch of songs as well, which by that time will have grown, and since some of the shows are multiple nights in cities, we want to dust off some older material as well, that we haven’t played in years, so it will be fun to incorporate the new, newer, and old.
Absolute Compliance is out now via Castle Face Records.
Bronze is set to embark on a tour with OSEES this fall, with select dates featuring Automatic. Tickets are on sale now. See dates below.
Bronze Tour Dates:
Mon, Sept 5 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel ^*
Tue, Sept 6 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel ^*
Wed, Sept 7 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel ^*
Fri, Sept 9 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater ^*
Sat, Sept 10 – Seattle, WA – Neumos ^*
Sun, Sept 11 – Seattle, WA – Neumos ^*
Thu, Sept 15 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue Mainroom *
Fri, Sept 16 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
Sat, Sept 17 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
Sun, Sept 18 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom *
Mon, Sept 19 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall *
Wed, Sept 21 – Boston, MA – Royale *
Thu, Sept 22 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw *
Fri, Sept 23 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw *
Sat, Sept 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw *
Mon, Sept 26 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
Tue, Sept 27 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle *
Wed, Sept 28 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse *
Fri, Sept 30 – Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas *
Mon, Oct 3 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister Bar *
With OSEES *
With Automatic ^
