No matter how good you are at what you do, sharing your work with the world can be a downright bone-chilling prospect. Wellington, New Zealand–based band Hans Pucket lean into that atmosphere of terror in the spooky new video for “Bankrupt,” the third single from their upcoming sophomore record No Drama. Directed by bassist Callum Devlin, it finds the band’s supernaturally catchy power-pop made all the more devilish by a haunted guitar amp.
“‘Bankrupt’ might be my favorite song from the album, so naturally I put myself in charge of directing this video,” says Devlin, who co-founded the band with twin brother Oliver. “This concept—some form of ‘band in a room’ video—has been banging around my brain for over a year. I’d been holding onto a lot of misplaced fear and dread around this album release, which I think led to this very dark tone.”
In the video, a different kind of horror comically crosses the face of each band member as their new amp manifests skeletons, disembodied hands, and red spectral lightning (along with a monstrously huge guitar tone) in the practice room. For Callum, it served as a means of exorcising his doubts about the record. “Annabel [Kean] shot the hell out of it, and our skeleton ‘Prince Phillip’ really stole the show. It was a truly cathartic experience, getting to electrocute the band for this video. Any fear is now gone. I am ready for the album to come out now.”
Callum previously directed videos for fellow New Zealanders and labelmates The Beths, who were also intertwined with the making of No Drama—guitarist Jonathan Pierce helped produce the record, with Elizabeth Stokes providing backup vocals and Benjamin Sinclair arranging strings. Additionally, the two bands will be hitting the road together in February—find their US dates below along with the “Bankrupt” video.
Upcoming US tour stops (all dates with The Beths)
2/16 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
2/17 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
2/22 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
2/24 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
2/26 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
2/28 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
3/2 - New York, NY@ Brooklyn Steel
3/3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
3/4 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
3/6 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
3/7 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade - Heaven
3/8 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
3/10 - Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
3/11 - Dallas, TX @ Tulips
3/14 - Denver, CO @ Summit
3/16 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
3/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda
3/18 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
