Following an appearance on BBC 6music’s Trunk of Punk last week, Hertfordshire, UK indie punk favorites The Subways are pleased to reveal the art-deco inspired video for their heartfelt new single ‘Black Wax’ which is out now via Alcopop! Records/Bodan Kuma.
Serving as a love letter to music and the many pleasures and reliefs that it can bring us, the track was recorded with a guitar made from wood which was reclaimed from the bar of much-missed Harlow venue The Square, where The Subways played their first-ever show.
Directed and edited by Joe Gist and his team at Blink Vivid, the band was keen to highlight the effect that music has on the body with the video, settling on a live performance that also features the dancing talents of Erin Pollitt, who physicalized her interpretation of the mood established by the song in the moment of playback.
Commenting on the video, frontman Billy Lunn says: “I’ve always been in love with Art Deco, and I felt like ‘Black Wax’ would be the perfect song with which to indulge this love, with the song’s constant references to the history of music, and some of our favourite artists and performers of the twentieth century.”
“The song itself is about gratitude for music, particularly the process of setting a record player going and hearing the abundance of sound that follows from such a device. So much joy from such humble origins. Appreciation for the physical format of the vinyl record has increased dramatically these last few years, so it felt natural to include elements like the gramophone.”
“We also wanted to take the opportunity to dress up in costume from the Roaring 20s era. I’m personally not one for dressing up (in fact, I tend to strip off for live gigs), so it was quite thrilling to step back into the past with all the period-appropriate clothes and make-up, especially in the beautiful Art Deco setting of the New Mills Art Theatre in Yorkshire, which the production team did a brilliant job of seeking out and shooting.”
The band’s forthcoming fifth studio album, ‘Uncertain Joys,’ is set for release on January 13th, 2023.