Any band whose new album features a “shoegaze-leaning” version of Robyn Hitchcck’s “Queen Elvis” can’t be all bad. And the Purrs have been pretty damn good for 26 years. Lifers on the Pacific Northwest club circuit, the Seattle band is celebrating the pending release of its latest LP, On All Of Us Right Now!, available May 21 via Swoon. While many of the themes on the new album are infused with post-COVID anger and despair, the performances mostly reflect the sort of petulant optimism found on “To Bed With A Smile.”
“When I was a kid, the utility company would clear-cut these huge swathes of trees and drop in electric lines on big erector-set structures,” says Jima, the Purrs’ lead singer. “In summer, the ground in those areas would be covered in wildflowers. I remember being able to actually hear the electricity buzzing through the wires. Nature seemed unstoppable at the time. It still does.”
For the video, the Purrs tapped into a full-on David Lynch vibe.
“The power lines are a vehicle to allow life to transfer from one form of existence to another,” says Jima. “It captures the band in their natural element: rock ’n’ roll and weirdness.”
We’re proud to premiere the Purrs’ “To Bed With A Smile” video.
—Hobart Rowland
