Post War Years – All Eyes Music Video (w/ Interview from Tobias Stretch)

How was the concept for this developed? You and the band jointly? Mostly you? Mostly the band?

The band presented me with an idea of an image, a playground swing descends in slow motion towards the head of an alien creature. From this powerful image I was able to create a world around it that also reflected the meaning of the song which dealt with the trials and tribulations of a young person trying to find their way in the big bad world.

This video feels and reads like a nightmare which then comes to show itself as light-hearted. Is there any truth in that kind of reading?

Yes, nightmares can be quite funny at times despite the fear they usually elicit. Nervous laughter is the surest sign that an object of fear has now passed. To me, the celebration of life is also about being free of fear, even if it is only for moments. People who have endured traumatic events tend to have a blacker sense of humor, so the lines between humor and fear are always blurry for me.

Are there particular components of the music or lyrical content that you think work best with the video?

The most literal match to the lyrics is obvious in the close up on their eyes in reference to the song title, “All Eyes.” However, I think the best creative interpretation of the lyrics is, “Every eye on the finish line,” as illustrated by the pendulum-like playground swing as a symbol of inescapable fate, that she must face, which we eventually see at the end when she gets on the swing with her new friends. The last image is of her staggering from the crashed van disoriented. This will lead us into the next chapter, so it’s to be continued…

Keeping in mind that we are a publication that likes to track influences of bands, is there anything relating to this song or video that might be of interest?

The alien’s name is Gorky (Arshile Gorky was an artist who dealt with a lot of fear) he represents the fear in all of us, that we must embrace in order to overcome it and grow, because in the end most fears are just silly, love is the answer.

Credits

Band – Post War Years
Director – Tobias Stretch
Producer – Skin Flicks
DP – Mitch Martinez
PA – David Popolow
Sculpture, Costume – Jenny Lee Maas
Animatronics – Luna’s Puppets, Scott Gurten
Wardrobe – Rachel Nachmias
Actress – Arianna Conover
PA – Jamie Rose
PA – Nick Dronick