The Long Island Sound: Gambit's video pulls a switch
"The Gambit" cover art. No credit Credit: Photo by handout
In honor of the Fourth of July, let's talk about the new video from Gambit.
"This Town" is the catchiest of the songs on the Rocky Point band's EP, a mix of spare Postal Service electronic rhythms and the warmth of Lyle Kamesaki's post-emo vocals that bounces between sweetness and angst.
The video for "This Town" - directed by Randy Scott Slavin, who has also helmed videos for Ryan Star and Lion of Ido - takes that feeling to the next level.
It follows two suburban boys around for a day, and their motives are slightly suspect. They're cruising down Route 25A in Rocky Point. There's a bit of vandalism, a little drinking. Then they're building stuff from "The Anarchist Cookbook," picking up fertilizer and charcoal from the hardware store. They're mixing chemicals, attaching fuses and putting them in metal canisters.
Worrisome. Is the kid who looks like a cross between Kirk Cameron and Kevin Jonas up to no good? Wait. They're outside of Rocky Point High School with their girlfriends, leaving one of the metal canisters behind, attached to some sort of detonation device.
Wait! Are they gonna blow up Rocky Point High School? That would really send a bad message to LI kids. (I was already imagining the disclaimers: "Kids, this is a video. Blowing up schools in real life is not cool.") The girlfriends are getting worried: Is Kirk / Jonas gonna do something bad?
"This could be all that we dreamt about," Kamesaki sings, at his most dramatic. "This could be nothing at all."
Oh, no. He's flipping the switch. And - spoiler alert! - fireworks go off. A majestic celebration of independence, followed, of course, by a beach bonfire shot ala "1979" and a lovely party that lasts 'til dawn. Happy Fourth.
Watch the video at myspace.com/gambitofficial
Contact The Long Island Sound at glenn.gamboa@newsday.com or follow @ndmusic on Twitter.
