LVL UP Share Solitary “Blur” Video Ahead of Their First European Headlining Tour

Music Video LVL UP
LVL UP Share Solitary “Blur” Video Ahead of Their First European Headlining Tour

New York indie-rock outfit LVL UP have shared the video for “Blur,” the second song from their deservedly acclaimed Sub Pop debut Return To Love. Now’s as good a time as any: The band is about to embark on their first tour of the U.K. and mainland Europe, culminating in a performance at Barcelona’s massive Primavera Sound festival in June.

The video, directed by Ryan Schnackenberg and lensed by Adam Kolodny, follows guitarist and vocalist Mike Caridi as he rides a vintage motorcycle; shops at a grocery store; throws a one-man house party; and goes hunting (for trophies) in a snowy forest. The clip, shot at Caridi’s parents’ house and a few of his teenage hangouts, evokes both solitude and yearning—Caridi is all but the only human being who appears in it, yet he never stops moving, as if he’s searching urgently for something, even if he doesn’t know what.

“We drew inspiration from films like Badlands, Buffalo 66 and Gummo,” Caridi told NME. “Similar lonely characters had been written into many collaborative short films, or story ideas between Ryan and I throughout college, always with different motives, but each as lonely as the last. The character in ‘Blur’ is a person who despite his demeanors, is living in loneliness and nostalgia.”

“I have a very distinct memory of being squirreled away in a corner at a party with Mike talking about video ideas, and he brought up the idea of a character doing burnouts in an empty lot,” explained Schnackenberg. “I thought that was a hilarious but depressing visual, that said so much to me about this character’s inner life, and we jumped off from there.”

Watch the “Blur” video above, for goodness sakes’ listen to Return To Love if you haven’t already, and find LVL UP’s European tour dates below.

LVL UP Tour Dates 2017:

March
28 – Glasgow, United Kingdom @ The Hug & Pint
29 – Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom @ Think Tank
30 – Leeds, United Kingdom @ Brudenell Social
31 – Manchester, United Kingdom @ Gullivers

April
01 – Nottingham, United Kingdom @ JT Soar
02 – Birmingham, United Kingdom @ Sunflower Lounge
03 – Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom @ Clwb Ifor Bach
04 – London, United Kingdom (*moved from Old Blue Last) @ Kamio
05 – Brighton, United Kingdom @ Green Door Store
06 – Paris, France @ La Mecanique Ondulatoire
07 – Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Motel Mozaique
08 – Groningen, Netherlands @ Vera
09 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ ACU
11 – Bremen, Germany @ Lagerhaus
12 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
13 – Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow Skybar
14 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ BETA
15 – Berlin, Germany @ Privatclub
17 – Vienna, Austria @ B72
18 – Ljubljiana, Slovenia @ Klub Gromka
20 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Gonzo
21 – Monthey, Switzerland @ Pont-Rouge
22 – Lyon, France @ Les Capucins

May
31 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival

June
01-04 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival

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