Seattle's Universe People debut the video for their single "Druids", directed and edited by Jo Claxton and filmed by Kelly Burton. Australian ex-pat Jo Claxton plays it cool and tough on guitar, with fellow vocalist Kellie Payne reinforcing matters on bass, and Dave Ramm keeping their Universe rhythmic on drums. Having finished their full-length Go To The Sun courtesy of Portland's Pool Recording Studio (Blood Beach, Brilliant Colors, Grouper, The Royal Baths, etc), the Northwest trio prepares to deliver their volatile take on the DIY globe that covers everything from "Bad French", to the sporadic unconscious interjections of wants, thoughts, and statements.
"I am not a curiosity, I am a woman, feel like sitting down, I want to finish my mimosa," Jo and Kellie take on the stereotypes of gender with a spoken word approach and stripped down funk that creates an artful musical anarchy. Breaking through the chorus conventions with "oooooohs" and "aaah aaah aaahs", the trio utilizes dadaist means to spin reality, logics, genre conventions, and abstract propositions on their head. "Tell me your offer, you don't got legs and you don't have mine". In further response to the offer, Jo and Kellie declare their autonomy of legs with more "oohhhs" and "aaahs" to further confuse the question and keep the sound whirring and whimsical.
Taking their no-wavy pop experiment further, Jo breaks down the fourth wall through commenting on the song's process. "Seems like a lot of nerve, seems like a lot of fills, just for some songs about chicks and druids." And in response to referencing that ancient priestly class known only to Pliny the Elder; the trio is shown dressed in their hooded-druid best and raising a chalice while asking the listening-viewer to "tell me your reason". Like a jazz trio gone rogue, Universe People take their post-punk leanings to the post-post-modern schools of call and response signifiers and unconscious sentiments.
Universe People's album debut Go To The Sun will be available February 19 from Little Black Cloud Records.
