Maybe it’s just the isolation taking hold, but CHIPS’ new video for “Mystery Love” is about the most fun we can have without speaking moistly within a moose rack of our friends.
“We had been planning on filming a video for ‘Mystery Love,’ but obviously our plans were put on hold,” says CHIPS bassist Lance McNeill, referring to that which need not be named.
Like many bands, or really anyone who had made long or short term plans of any variety, CHIPS had found themselves in the need of a good pivot. So they turned to their friends and their technology to put a video together. If anything has come out of this experience, it’s that we’ve all become armchair epidemiologists and at-home studio producers, and at least one of those things might prove to be useful.
“We were a little bummed that we couldn’t release our new music so we put our heads together and tried to figure out a way to film a video,” says McNeill. “We came up with the isolation/quarantine idea. We know everyone is hunkered down at home, and probably getting pretty bored so this would be a fun little project to help people pass the time and maybe brighten up their day. We were thrilled with the response from our friends. With the power of technology, we were able to get friends from all over the continent.”
There are some quick east coast cameos, including Crash Barton, Mathew Hannah of Little Cities, Elephant Skeletons, and Luke Bailey’s spectacular stomp work.
Naturally, the song plays right into the quarantine gag. The message is right there, and what else would anyone else sing about right now. Stick to what you know, and what you’re passionate about, and what is suddenly universally relatable. Throw in a catchy beat and the growl of Adam Guidry’ s vocals and you’ve got a winner.
“The song and our current circumstances actually fit together quite nicely,” says McNeill. “The lyrics are a kind of a yearning for social interaction, human contact, and togetherness. The song is about vulnerability. That carefree night or experience with friends where you just go with the flow. Nobody has any plans. You’re with people you care about and love or you’re looking to meet new people or fall in love.”
Consider “Mystery Love” to be our favourite song of the quarantine so far.