Stacking Chairs reveals a band at full-flight, imbued with mellotron and great peels of electric guitar – it’s one of the most immediate songs on an album full of astonishing hooks and textures. Directed by collaborator W.A.M. Bleakley, the video mixes offbeat humour with a stylised but literal interpretation of the song’s lyrics.
Middle Kids – Stacking Chairs (Official Video) – https://youtu.be/e-xPosJqePo
1. Could you tell us what inspired the video for ‘Stacking Chairs’ and how it came to be?
We asked director WAM Bleakley to listen to the song and see what images came to him. His idea was to use the colour red to tie a bunch of images together. He also introduced a UFO theme based on the line line verse 2 ‘I’m wrapped up in all these weird theories’. Our set designer Laura had the idea to build a diorama (based on a painting that is also in the clip). Then she built tiny figures of us to place in the UFO story.
2. How was working with director W.A.M. Bleakley? Any funny stories from set?
We’ve made 8 videos with WAM (a couple of single video clips and some live TV performances), so we’re super comfortable with his style now. He’s approached each video differently and always creatively.
A ridiculous moment from this clip was that someone forgot to organise a haze machine for the UFO shots, so we improvised and got someone to blow their vape on the UFO for the shot.
3. How important does video feel in the context of your music? What role do you feel it plays in the story?
I guess the goal is for the song to someway be enhanced by the video, to take it to a new and interesting level. And each video is different. Sometimes it feels like the video is very obviously related to the song, sometimes the video is some kind of performance, and sometimes the video feels like a totally seperate entity to the song. In this case, song Stacking Chairs is very romantic and passionate, but the video is more playful. This video feels like a playful interpretation by WAM of our song.
4. The response to Today We’re The Greatest has been wild — how does it feel looking back on it now?
It’s great to have the album out! We recorded it in 14 days but the worked on the mixes for what felt like a long time, getting it just right. And it feels like it has been received pretty well at the shows we’ve played since. We have the best fans.
Some things like getting Late Night TV performances feel so surreal, but really we just hope that people are connecting with the music, and receiving some comfort from it.
5. Is there a track from the album that you’re most proud of?
That is hard to answer! Cellophane (Brain) is a band favourite. It’s cool how it starts quite beautiful and wistful and then grows in weirdness and emotion. And the wailing guitar is fun.
6. You’re held in such high regard in Australia — what would your advice be to newer artists wanting to work at your level?
Every artist has such a different journey! Something we found helpful from the beginning was to be ambitious, and to speak about where we wanted to be in a year, even if it seemed ridiculous. It also helps to find people who believe in what you do to help your band grow.
7. Who is your musical hero?
So many great artists, that question is impossible. We’ve started to joke that our greatest influence is actually the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which our manager does not enjoy.
8. Dream collab?
The National, The 1975
9. What’s next for Middle Kids?
We have a tour planned in Sept/Oct in the USA, and are currently about to start recording the next record, which is super exciting. Things are strange for bands during the pandemic, but we’re rolling with it.
—
Photos by Ellen Virgona
