Although the members of Barcelona’s Mourn definitely didn’t grow up in the 90s, their latest video proves that the band has more than a passing knowledge of obscure pop culture from that decade. Not only do they practice an exhilarating form of guitar-driven indie rock that’s just a little askew, keeping the listener on his or her toes, they also like to revisit ways of making videos in the style of MTV’s heyday.
Watching the black and white shots of “Gertrudis, Get Through This!,” it reminds me of the *very serious* type of stark videos that dominated the early 90s. It’s almost a callback to Metallica’s “The Unforgiven” (although, thankfully, Mourn recall that video without juxtaposing shirtless boys and old men) or even Extreme’s smash power ballad “More Than Words.” The stark and gritty style of performance-based videos might have come across as too arty for art’s sake (“look how minimalist this is!”) but Mourn are not trying to fabricate an image. Like many teenage bands, Mourn must face a lot of skepticism from those who question their abilities. Instead of addressing the haters, they display just what they’re capable of doing–playing amazing music.
“Gertrudis” rocks with slightly dissonant guitars, thriving drum beats, and slacker moments in the vocal department. Their music is furious and rocking. They’ve got an ability to arrange their words and music to make everything irresistible. One listen to the alliterative chorus is enough to get it stuck in your head.
Having released a self-titled full length album and a three-song EP (“Gertrudis” is the title track) on Captured Tracks earlier this year, the band has been touring nonstop, winning fans left and right. This is their second collaboration with director Roger Guàrdia, having worked together on their previous clip for “Your Brain Is Made Of Candy.” Mourn are not to be missed.