Them Guns presenting the music video for, ‘Fireworks’
LAβs Them Guns are trying to shine a light on our darkness. βFireworksβ is all about wrong choices, and the hope that your last one was your last one ever. They stalk grimy, neglected back alleys, whipping spark-throwing chains that brilliantly, but only briefly, illuminate the shadows. Graffiti and busted concrete litter the bleak landscape.
Performance shots intercut with the controlled chaos of the videoβs definitely illegal pyrotechnics, making it clear that all is not well with these guys. Jittery, personal space-invading camera work and film thatβs been put through the wringer create an immediate sense of unease. Here, a broken mirror reflects our narratorβs need to escape his past. You can feel the walls closing in; itβs a room locked from the outside, and youβre in there with them.
A single swinging bare lightbulb and shifting focus expose half-seconds of intentional facial disfigurement. You canβt hide what rotten inside. The lyrics say it all: βAnd if you feel that all is lost / Blame it on the coins you tossed. / Nothingβs changed, Iβm still the same / Swear to god with fingers crossed.β
Them Guns started up in 2013 in Santa Cruz. The California coast may conjure images of sun-splashed paradise, but this town has a dark side, and itβs easy to believe that Them Gunsβ knack for playing polished hooks against grimy, stomping distortion is born of their background. Principle songwriters Navarone Garibaldi and Kyle Hamoodβs styles clicked almost instantly. Garibaldiβs vocals and guitar style were a perfect fit with Hamoodβs keyboards. Garibaldi is the son of Priscilla Presley, but heβs skipping the beach party for the after-after-party. Lorenzo Perezβs minimalist swing drums and Chuck Holidayβs threatening, fuzzed-out bass round out Them Gunsβ rhythmic rock intensity.
Garibaldi is a lover of snakes, which makes a whole lot of sense in the context of βFireworks.β The symbol of sin feels ever-present throughout the video and in their menacing sound. Listen close and you might hear some Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Queens of the Stone Age, Girls Against Boys, or even some Chemical Brothers.
βFireworksβ will appear on the bandβs upcoming full-length, From The Shadows, due out February 22 on TLG / Ingrooves. To date theyβve hit New York, London, the west coast, and SXSW. Now, Them Guns are looking to make the road their home in support of that release.
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