Formed in 2017, the San Diego/Los Angeles-based shoegaze act Distressor seek to bring back the elements of ’90s shoegaze and 2000’s emo/alt-rock without getting too mired in nostalgia to create something new and original. Since the release of their 2023 LP Momentary, they’ve been releasing a steady string of singles that have been helping them carve out their own path in the music industry.
Today, we’re showcasing their video for their latest single “Broken Glass,” from their forthcoming second album. With a mesmerizing, shoegaze-y wall of noise and hauntingly echoing vocals, “Broken Glass” is a hazy, swirling track that somehow hits you with an emotional gut punch at the same time. The handheld video effects and quick editing give the video the same vibe as the song, allowing you to get lost in the noise.
“The song started out as sort of a nothing-burger and the demo was shelved for a couple years,” explain the band about the album. “We started pulling ideas for the next album and after our drummer got rid of some shitty programmed drums we had on the demo and tracked some original drums to it and our bass player threw some incredible bass lines down it sort of lit up and turned into one of our all time favorites. We added it to our live set almost immediately. Lately, we’ve been leaning harder into our emo roots, (we all grew up loving early 2000s emo) and blending that with the heavier side of modern shoegaze. Even though it’s an aspect of the genre that we love, we’ve honestly grown a little bored of the classic soft shoegaze style vocals. So with this one, we wanted to break away from some genre norms and do something more pushy and hooky I guess with a big chorus.
“The video was shot by our good friend, Diego Guardado, and he did an incredible job,” they continue. “We just wanted to capture some raw, live energy that felt true to the song and nothing fancy. Even though music videos aren’t as popular anymore, we still love making them, so we always try to incorporate a visual element when we can with new releases. As an independent band, we usually just find a cool spot somewhere, so we grabbed a random room in LA, brought some Modelos and knocked it out in a few hours.”
Check out the video below.
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Photo Credit: Samuel David Katz
