Nothing | photo by Ryan Lowry | courtesy of the artist
Watch Nothing’s surreal nightmare in “I Hate the Flowers”
Nothing is fueled by nightmares. Their latest effort, “I Hate Flowers,” directed by Matt Newman, is another entry in the series of visually captivating music videos for Dance On The Blacktop. The video follows an agoraphobic man leaving his NYC apartment, thrashing as he’s dragged by some invisible entity in a sort of Fight Club scene. Flickering collages flash between clips of the man shearing his head and lathering his face in gold paint. In this surreal, apocalyptic world, the narrative becomes frayed and disconnected, reflecting the paranoid thoughts and disintegration of the character’s mind.
The single functions as a sequel to the band’s “Vertigo Flowers” off Tired of Tomorrow. In a statement frontman Dominic Palermo noted, “I’ve been referring to humans as flowers since the earliest days of Nothing for their beautifully sad and their literal life/death cycle is so relatable.” Palermo’s personal experiences rise to the surface in each individual song, every narrative connected to his past. This video’s unnerving storyline could be linked to his traumatic brain injury — he was jumped after a gig in Oakland in 2015 — which could account for the feelings of heightened anxiety, depressive self-loathing and misanthropic outlook threading this album.
Nothing is playing a record release show in Philly October 6th that benefits the Philadelphia Prison Society. Get more details on that concert at the XPN Concert Calendar, and watch the music video for “I Hate the Flowers” below.