Between their band name invoking obnoxious sales adverts and the the driving post-punk sound that guides Nora Singh’s relentless and fairly non-sequiturial lyrics on their new single “Degree Decree,” it may be no surprise that Hit Bargain aren’t particularly comfortable with the moment of stifling capitalism we’re attempting to live through. Yet this balance of anxiety and a sense of humor critical to survival in 21st century America is the catalyst for the LA-based group’s new sophomore album A Dog a Deer a Seal, which is slated for release on November 10 via Get Better Records.
Harnessing a similar manic power to their peers in Stuck or Tunic, the track is a re-energized continuation of where the group—featuring members of Beach Fossils and coldwavers Cold Beat—left off on their 2018 debut, with Singh making note of the recording’s particular spiritual connection to the aughts output of Three One G, the label run by The Locust’s Justin Pearson. Meanwhile, the single’s official video achieves a similar balance of familiar capitalist imagery and Cronenbergian nightmare fuel, running with the simple tagline “Climate collapse, but make it fun!” “The idea for the video was basically Videodrome meets a TV shopping network,” Singh says of the visual, which replicates scenes from the shopping network as stocked by Cronenberg’s props department.
“It just really came together in collaboration with director Katharine Antoun who helped us storyboard, ordered questionable props for us from Amazon, and even glued on my gross ‘stepmom porn’ acrylic nails,” adds Singh. “Nic Maier’s [of Everything Is Terrible!] genius editing just underscores how bizarre, funny, and anxiety-inducing late capitalism can be—and Henry Grenier shot everything perfectly at Kino Flo in Burbank. We made the props from this weird stuff our drummer Anton thrifted, and just spent the day eating snacks and cracking each other up while we were filming.”
Check out the chaos below.
