There are few things that communicate a sense of alienation better than a guy wearing a cartoonish bear head while drifting aimlessly through a city to a score of lush, moody alternative rock. Which is to say, it probably shouldn’t work at all. But still, Boston rockers Motel Black pull off the trick with the music video for its song, “Morning Hum.”
The band — which will perform July 14 at Faces Brewing Co. in Malden and July15 at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company in Framingham — creates an exquisite and, at times, emotionally demanding soundscape. Everything about both the song and video conveys a sense of depression, of being lost in the world and unable to make decisions. It’s a long song, clocking in at more than six minutes, but there are enough tempo and textural changes throughout to hold the listener’s attention, all without losing the central theme.
The opening notes are gloomy and ethereal, and singer Brian George’s voice is haunting as lyrics such as “I don’t care where you’re from/I have desperate ears/That call me awake” stretch out across the gloom eventually into a plaintive chorus of, “I’m staying right here.” George hits the tone just right, each note etched with pain, heartbreak and, perhaps most importantly, stasis. The persona is paralyzed by indecision, and that ache arcs across the song to just shy of the point where it’s unbearable, before pivoting at the halfway mark.
Here, the void gets filled by a crunch of guitars, and the whole song escalates. Depression and anxiety give way to something that resembles anger, with George’s refrain of the line, “Why you always got to hold me ransom?” echoing out against the escalating garage rock bonfire. It’s a cathartic blow off for the listener, but still, in the last few moments of the song, it seems the explosion has passed, and the song slides back into the gloom.
It’s an immaculately structured song, one which balances a convulsive emotional core with moments of delicacy and stillness. The video reflects that dichotomy, too, the costume bear head putting a surreal spin on the song’s internal drama, but never losing sight of the persona’s sense of depression: A stark reminder there can be depths and even pain beneath hidden the surface of cheerful exteriors .