Protomartyr Share Despondent Video for “Don’t Go To Anacita”

The places from which Protomartyr draw their influences are eclectic, to say the least. Their musical style is a healthy balance of Detroit garage and ‘70s U.K. punk, with the curveball of classical references dispersed among the lyrics. The band have maintained this modus operandi throughout their existence into the era of their recent release Relatives In Descent, and by the sounds of their single “Don’t Go To Anacita,” it’s working for them.

Today, they shared that track’s accompanying video, which was inspired by both “Stairway to Lenin” by Zbigniew Rybzynski and R.E.M.’s video for “Imitation of Life.” The clip pans across a gradually ascending set of stairs, documenting peasants living out despondent lives, while elitists wielding staffs and wearing paper bags over their heads govern them. Yoonwa Park, who directed the video, said in a statement:

I wanted to make a visual that recreated the feeling of scanning over a large, densely populated image, like a Breughel painting or Where’s Waldo? I wanted to convey a feeling of false progress and the idea that every new horror that meets us is part of a never-ending continuum. Joe Casey’s lyrics are chock full of references, both contemporary and classical, often in the same song. It creates a really unique visual field that conveys the exact flavor of dread I find myself feeling a lot lately.

Protomartyr are currently wrapping up the North American leg of their tour in support of Relatives In Descent, and will be heading to Europe with METZ come November. See their tour dates below, underneath the video for “Don’t Go To Anacita,” and read our review of Relatives In Descent here.

Protomartyr Tour Dates:

October
27 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Boot & Saddle *
28 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *

November
02 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Futurum %
03 – Wroclaw, Poland @ Klub Firlej %
04 – Warsaw, Poland @ Klub Hydrozagadka %
06 – Berlin, Germany @ Bi Nuu %
07 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Loppen %
08 – Hamburg, Germany @ Knust %
09 – Groningen, Netherlands @ Vera
10 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ Le Guess Who?
11 – Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Rotown
12 – Brighton, U.K. @ The Haunt ^
14 – London, U.K. @ Dome Tufnell Park ^
15 – Manchester, U.K. @ Deaf Institute ^
16 – Newcastle, U.K. @ The Cluny ^
17 – Glasgow, U.K. @ CCA ^
18 – Dublin, Ireland @ Whelan’s ^
19 – Leeds, U.K. @ Brudenell Social Club ^
21 – Brussels, Belgium @ Rotonde #
22 – Tourcoing, France @ Le Grand Mix #
23 – Nantes, France @ Pole Etudiant #
24 – Bordeaux, France @ IBOAT
25 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie

(* – with Flasher)
(% – with METZ)
(^ – with Sauna Youth)
(# – with Heimat)