New Short Film From Matthew & the Arrogant Sea is Weird and Wonderful
When Matthew and the Arrogant Sea and Cole Mitchek teamed up to make a music video for "Broke (For Years)," they didn't know they'd go on to make a 3-part short film using music from the album The Glooms Pt 1. They continued down the path of creativity, and the result is surreal yet dreary visual called A Bump on the Head in Three Parts.
The short film will premiere Saturday, and part 2, which features the song "Swedish Death Metal Cassette" has already been accepted into the Indie Best Films Festival. It's a dream come true for director Cole Mitchek, who grew up loving MATAS. Mitchek's favorite song was "Pretty Purple Top Hat," and he was surprised to easily get permission to use that song in one of his earlier films.
As for the new videos, Mitchek manages to match the tone of MATAS without succumbing to a literal interpretation of vocalist Matthew Gray's lyrics. There's always been a duality to Gray's songwriting in which the atmosphere is dreamy but with elements of paranoia.
The first part of the film establishes a barren landscape complete with a zombie outbreak as Gray sings "I'll never die" in a honey voice that belies the haunting notion of what those words could mean. People who feel they're so alone with their problems and insecurities in a world that feels driven by hollow symbols will find something to relate to in this project.
"Matthew’s songwriting is just genius. His lyrics are already so visual and otherworldly," Mitchek said. "The great thing about working with MATAS is that they’ve created this environment where no ideas are too weird, and anything goes. We’ve got some wilder and bigger things coming including a feature film."
The location of the premiere is being kept secret until the day of the event. Respond to the Facebook event to stay informed. The event will opens at 7 p.m. with performances from Nick & the Day-Olds as well as Matthew and the Arrogant Sea