Neil & Liam Finn reveal music video for 'Anger Plays A Part'
/With today's release of the album Lightsleeper, Neil & Liam Finn have revealed a stirring visual treatment, ‘Anger Plays A Part’.
The video for ‘Anger Plays A Part’, directed by Alex & Anthony, explores idealisation, resentment and anger, viewed through the lens of a child. The video acts as a commentary on a child’s greater perception and susceptibility to the emotions of their elders, acting as a mirror to remind us that anger unchecked can never be productive.
“We love the video Alex and Anthony made for this song,” said Neil & Liam “an uneasy pairing of childhood innocence with social conformity. It’s an acknowledgement of how under the surface of Western middle class living brews a frustration and detachment that sometimes spills over into anger, an unmistakeable warning sign that there’s something wrong with our societal values.”
“I wrote the song while living in New York - amidst some frustration and anxiety over the writing process, it doesn’t make you the most positive person to be around, and the ones closest normally cop it the worst. I guess along with self-awareness comes the opportunity to better yourself, and break the cycle, all the while acknowledging that feeling that frustration and anxiety passionately can be an inspiring impetus to express yourself.” - Liam told Billboard.
Recorded mainly in Neil's Auckland studio, Lightsleeper bursts with melody and the trademark, euphoric flips that the Finn family are known for. When Liam's lo-fi atmospherics meet Neil's iconic pop sensibility, it's met with a feeling of intimacy and awe that makes it easy to wonder why the dynamic father and son duo haven't written together, earlier.
The simple Finn family ethos of making music with friends and family continues right through to the personnel recruited for the album; the touring band, Sharon Finn - Neil's wife, and Liam's mother - plays bass on two of the songs, Elroy Finn - Liam's brother - drums on seven; and good friend Connan Mockasin returns for four. Greek friends Elias Dendias and Spiros Anemogianisbring plaintive bouzouki and accordion to 'Back To Life', and legendary Mick Fleetwood turns up to play on 'Anger Plays A Part', 'Any Other Way' and 'We Know What It Means'.
The unmistakeable spirit - of musicians at their peak, bound together by a still-hot desire to make music that isn't simply that year's work, but something brewed up with bones, love, quiet revelation and the perfectly-evoked euphoria of being alive - is what makes Lightsleeper such a gorgeous progression in the Finn family musical history.
Neil & Liam Finn
Lightsleeper
1. Island of Peace
2. Meet Me In The Air
3. Where's My Room
4. Anger Plays A Part
5. Listen
6. Any Other Way
7. Back To Life
8. Hiding Place
9. Ghosts
10. We Know What It Means
11. Hold Her Close
Lightsleeper by Neil & Liam Finn is out Friday, August 24