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Jul 24, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Ben Brady

Pittsburgh-based indie duo, Animal Scream, returned earlier this year with their sophomore album, Heartbroke Motel. With their latest release, the band一led by singer Chad Monticue and drummer Josh Sickels一follows their 2020 debut record with a similarly layered and nocturnal style of psych pop. They further enmesh themselves in simmering grooves and shadowy melodies, incorporating stylistic cues from a variety of influences, ranging from film scores to reggae and alt rock. Today, the band are back with a video for one of the record’s highlights, “Forget Your Love,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Forget Your Love” finds the band leaning further into their penchant for moody soundscapes, floating effortlessly above meditative guitar lines, woozy drum beats, and heartfelt trumpet flourishes. Their vocals offer a dreamy and psychedelic accompaniment to the instrumental, nestled soundly in the hazy mix of yearning melodies. All along, Monticue’s lyrics plead with a lover, begging to be freed from the burden of memory: “Forget your love / Forget your love / Please don’t come back for me / Please don’t come back.”

The video occupies a similarly hazy mode, painting the two lovers in the golden light of memory. Monticue says of the video, “The general theme consistent through Heartbroke Motel is communication. Haunted by their memories but longing for what might have been, our couple is granted one final moment together, in another dimension or time. We knew the chemistry between the actors would be key to the piece and we wanted the aesthetics to be kooky and otherworldly. Our friends Max and Mya agreed to play our star-crossed, sci fi lovers and they truly knocked it out of the park.

Directed by Tom Gregg who built the life-size set pieces from 2x4s and insulation foam. The miniatures were ho scale paper models shot in his basement and later brought to life through rear projection. The strange masks were made from plaster strips.”
Check out the song and video below. Heartbroke Motel is out everywhere now.