The singer-songwriter debuts his music video for his new single, “1982.”
The song: “1982,” off of Brad Byrd’s most recent record, Phases. Check out the song below.
About the artist: Raised in Massachusetts in a creative household, Byrd explores the middle ground between indie rock and alt-country. His unique blend consists of atmospheric arrangements, grainy guitar licks, and deeply personal lyrics.
The songwriting process: “Like the majority of my other songs, this one was a riff and melody first and materialized out of a sort of trance while I was playing guitar,” Byrd says. “I recorded the first pieces on my phone and then fine-tuned them over a period of time before hopping into the studio.”
About the album: “The songs on this record were all written at different times, in different places. I tend to write lots and lots (and lots) of tunes, and I’ve saved a ton of them over the years. I picked through them with my producing team and we ended up finding the through-line of the album together. For example, “The Stars Are out Tonight, Boy,” “Vampires,” “Sunset Girl,” and “Lies” were all written in the early aughts (when I was a little messed up), whereas the arrangements for “1982” and “Another Direction” go back about a decade (when I was more than a little messed up). Once we started focusing on certain tunes, they started to come together on their own and inform one another on their way to being finished.
“All my other records came together in a shorter period of time, but this one has a really wide range for me personally as a writer — almost 20 years — thus the title Phases. It’s really interesting to get some of the older ones in there because I remember what they meant to me back then, but I find they’re still relevant to me now. I think as a writer there’s a tendency to view your newer stuff as being better, but I’m learning that’s not always the case.”
About the video: Rotating between bright blue lights, black-and-white close-ups, and washed-out sepia tone imagery of dirt roads, the video brings to vibrant and visually appealing life the surrealistic undertones of “1982’s” lyrics.
Why we like it: With country themes at the center of the song’s lyrics, Byrd brings a modern musical progression with groovy guitar slides and soulful harmonies to a satisfying, dark indie rock ballad.
Get an exclusive first look at the music video for “1982,” below.
For more information about Brad Byrd, visit his website. Photography courtesy of Elusive Tiger.
