If you’ve survived a Turnstile show, you know what you’re getting into when you see Leeds collective Higher Power—not to be confused with the Canadian Christian act of the same name—take the stage. With one hardcore punk opus already under their belt with 2017’s Soul Structure, the band has been touring with the likes of Vein, Knocked Loose, and Soft Kill lately, and have recently dropped a chaotic follow-up in the form of the blistering single “Seamless,” set to appear on a January-scheduled new record called 27 Miles Underwater.
“Underwater” appears to be the theme the band went with for the single’s video, depicting singer Jimmy Wizard submerged in water intercut with scenes of the full band performing the track waist-deep in a burning lake. “Initially I wasn’t going to be the person in the water because I can’t even swim,” Wizard notes, “but it added to the panicked shots and I really wanted to visualise the idea of being inside your own head like being underwater.”
Directed by Mason Mercer, the clip’s aggressive editing lends itself to the band’s hardcore melodies and bone-rattling riffs. Although it feels cohesive, Wizard concludes by addressing one roadblock in the shoot: “We didn’t get time to get all the shots we needed to make the video in the U.K. so we had to shoot some of it in Brooklyn in Mason’s bath tub last minute, and they actually ended up being some of my favourite shots from the video.”
27 Miles Underwater is out January 24 on Roadrunner Records. You can pre-order it here.
