Despite their dreamy sound pulling from genres like shoegaze, psych, and post-rock, the latest single from the Miami-based Jaialai takes a candid look at the all-too-familiar presence of anxiety in our lives as if it was a malevolent entity that can be felt rather than seen. The track—which arrives ahead of the group’s debut EP As Sweet as I Was, expected out March 12 via Super Music Group—tackles this subject with an unexpected, pensive coolness, with even the harshest guitar effects dulled to the point of blending in with the gossamer backing instrumentation.
The video, on the other hand, oozes anxiety. “Inspired by contemporary horror, [director] Pedro Bello and [singer] Jovi Adames had conversations about anxiety and how it could be personified as a character,” the band shares about the truly odd and technically impressive video. “A night of watching YouTube led to Jovi showing Pedro Dross, a Venezuelan YouTuber that blogs about the paranormal. The aesthetic of horror in the contemporary world of cameras felt like an exciting way to portray anxiety in a music video.
“Our generation grew up on websites like ‘Creepy Pasta’ and stories like ‘el silbon’ [a folkloric Venezuelan demon], horror stories from our parents that actually tell tales of human nature disguise as these entities. In the case of the song ‘For Today’ we talk about anxiety and how it feels as if there is this presence or entity controlling your life, and even though you try to fight it and you try to change, you can always find yourself fighting these demons over and over, and that’s OK.”
Watch the video below.
