There are at least 100 different directions Tegan and Sara could have taken in their video for “100x,” but it’s likely that pet owner metaphors were never on anyone’s most-expected list. And still, the haunting montage of doe-eyed puppies striking our very emotional cores in the video above seems like a fitting realization of the morose lyrics to the track, which is the third song off the duo’s forthcoming Love You to Death to get the music video treatment.
There are certainly moments while watching the video in which your heart drops as you sit, emotionally overwhelmed by the thought of walking out on whatever lifelong human-pet bond you thought you’d built. But these moments are then soon followed by good laughs when you realize the animals’ perfectly timed head turns and wind machine-assisted voguing, as well as Tegan and Sara’s deadpan expressions, are subtle reminders to never take things (or relationships) too seriously.
According to an interview with Noisey, the video’s director Jess Rona won Sara Quin over at a Los Angeles party. “I constantly direct people to her beautiful, heartbreaking mini-music videos of her furry clients, because they’re an endless delight,” Sara said. “It was a true honor to have her do a long-form version for our song.”
The video feels both like a satire of those tearjerking ASPCA commercials and an ode to the things we’ve loved, maybe mistreated, and then lost, making it an excellent mix of emotional gravitas and clever subtextual humor. Best of all, the dogs are credited at the end of the clip, revealing such names as Teddy, Oliver, Blueberry, #TheChooch (sure to trend soon) and Lilly (aka Pancake). Tegan and Sara plan to put out videos for every track on their new album, and as long as they continue to be this delightful, we’re all for it.
Love You to Death is out June 3. Enjoy the “100x” video above, plus Tegan and Sara’s videos for “Boyfriend” and “U-Turn” here and here.