Tanlines have released ‘The Big Mess’, the title track from their forthcoming album. Following the previously shared singles ‘Outer Banks’ and ‘Burns Effect’, the song comes paired with a video directed by the band’s Eric Emm. Watch and listen below.
“‘The Big Mess’ begins with the line, ‘It’s been a long time…’ As the album opener, it’s a winky-sad nod to our long absence along with a statement of purpose, catching up like no time has passed at all,” Emm explained in a statement. “‘The Big Mess’ as an idea and album unifier represents not only the evolution of our lives and partnership but also stands for both our (Tanlines-branded) work and its core identity—a colorful and signature melange of influences and ideas. Thoughtful, fun, serious, and sad all at the same time. A big mess.”
“The video, too, shares these characteristics,” Emm continued. “Partly inspired by my 6-year-old who splatter painted our white kitchen while I snuck off to work on the album leaving him ‘painting at his easel for a few minutes,’ and expanding into an homage to the Fender Splattercaster I play in Tanlines (the video’s colors are based on the guitar). The video features us in full rock duo mode in our winky-sad take on an idea that *someone already did*—equal parts Jackson Pollock and Nickelodeon.”
The Big Mess arrives May 19 on Merge.
