After sharing a series of singles leading up to release day, today Chris Simpson finally released his solo debut as Mountain Time, his first new music since his last solo album, 2014’s Pink Chalk, was released under the name Zookeeper. Both projects followed the songwriter’s career fronting Mineral and The Gloria Record, both acts serving up a Texan’s take on Midwest emo.
One such single Simpson shared prior to dropping Music for Looking Animals in its entirety was “Rosemary, Etc.,” which he’s reviving with a music video directed by Cursive frontman (and feature film director) Tim Kasher, who supplements the track’s natural Spoon’s-“The Underdog” vibes with a religious narrative landing somewhere between Happy Hollow and Wise Blood, whose 1979 movie adaptation appears to be a visual reference point in the clip.
“Chris Simpson was kind enough to donate his time and acting skills to a Campdogzz video I shot a couple years back, so this was a nice opportunity for Jess Price (Campdogzz) and I to pay back the favor,” Kasher explains. “That Campdogzz video was laid out in reverse order, offering inspiration for this tale, also told backwards.”
“Naturally, when I started thinking about making a video for a song from the new Mountain Time record, I thought of Tim,” Simpson counters. “He is one of my favorite humans and there’s a peace that comes from working with people you love. It was a labor of love as all unpaid work is for artists, and I am ever grateful to everyone involved for helping it come together.”
Music for Looking Animals is out today via Spartan Records. Grab it here.
