We’re pleased to bring you the premiere of Netherlands‘ new music video for their song “Thumper” (watch it below). The track is taken from the band’s album Audubon, available now through Prosthetic Records (stream in full below).
“Thumper” was directed by Brooklyn-based video artist Allison Berkoy, the 3rd and final installment in what the band calls the “Stallions Trilogy” (she directed the “Stallions” video from their first album, Fantasmatic, and “Sixteen” from Silicon Vapor). Allison is also an installation and performance artist whose work has been described by the Huffington Post as “both fun and creepy,” as well as “a mysterious extravaganza” by Metroland.
Shot on the streets of Brooklyn in 100+ degree weather, the video begins with dancer/ choreographer Paul Benney clad in an all white suit and costume bunny head (surely adding at least 20 degrees to the heat), along with footage of eggs cracked on the ground, literally cooking on the pavement. As is the case with most of their work, Netherlands’ videos are fairly bizarre and slightly creepy. There is an abstraction to their madness that is wildly entertaining. If you’ve ever heard of Rob Crow’s cloaked band, Goblin Cock, there seems to be a similar tone– legitimate metal musicianship that is not in the habit of taking itself too seriously.
Formed in 2009 by acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Timo Ellis – whose dedication to the NYC art and music scene has seen him appear on almost 100 albums (including notable recordings and collaborations with Yoko Ono, The Melvins, John Zorn, Ween and Gibby Haynes) – the band is rounded out with Zach Eichenhorn on drums and Ava Farber on synthbass.
Credited for “ushering in a new wave of metal pop” (Noisey) with their “super fuzzed stoner rock” (CMJ), Netherlands have previously self-released two albums, 2010′s Fantasmatic and 2012′s Silicon Vapor, which the band has showcased throughout New York with zealous incendiary live performances that recall the brutality of hardcore along with foreboding atmospheric elements reminiscent of the early proto-metal greats. Having an expansive three dimensional style of work, the band has supported a range of acts including Melt Banana, Mutoid Man and The Giraffes.
