Music / Premieres
Video Premiere:
The Dull Joys - Turn the Other Way
Words by James Lynch
Thursday 18th July, 2019
Melbourne post punks The Dull Joys are back with the first taste of their second album, and today we have the pleasure of premiering ‘Turn the Other Way’. Matching the song’s erratic temperament and dark atmosphere, the new clip adds an extra layer of haziness to the track with its surreal visuals.
Opening with the clank of a steely guitar, ‘Turn the Other Way’ soon expands into a densely-crafted soundscape, filled out by mournful strings as a careening rhythm section grooves underneath. Vocalist Dylan Leech takes the reins of the song with his strikingly stark vocals and weaves a lean melody over the ebbing instrumentation, before he’s joined by the rest of the band to hit us with a hypnotically mismatched chorus hook - each vocalist stepping on the toes of the others. By the time we’re becoming accustomed to the track’s drunken sway, The Dull Joys shift gear and move into an atmospheric instrumental section, led by the sweeping violin as the band lilts in the background. We’re pulled back into motion for one more uncanny chorus followed by a fiery guitar break, before the track falls apart and is washed away with a dreamily ambient haze.

The new clip, created by Harrison Leech, takes the track’s volatile mood and partners it with an erratically surreal storyline. Inspired by Lars von Trier’s 2003 film Dogville, the clip finds guitarist Jordan Obarzanek in a drab living room/studio while similarly styled outsiders wander through his exposed living space, before the scene warps and he’s transported to a gloomy beach momentarily. Speaking about the clip, Harrison shares “the protagonist has lost his way, tied up in the expectations of the world around him. However, the limbo is very much a manifestation of his internal world, and when he breaks out, it is only back into reality”.

Check out the clip for 'Turn the Other Way’ above, and catch The Dull Joys launching the new track on Thursday, August 1st, at the Tote.