• News

• All

Dec 17, 2021 By Caleb Campbell

Earlier this year, Canadian glam rock artist Art d’Ecco shared his sophomore album In Standard Definition, returning with a swaggering vintage bent and prescient meditations on entertainment and celebrity. Calling back to iconic touchstones like David Bowie and T Rex, Art d’Ecco evokes the era in sound and setup, recording to a 2-inch tape on a 50-year-old console, while joining with producer/engineer Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, New Pornographers, Destroyer). Today, Art d’Ecco is back again, sharing the new music video for his single, “Good Looks,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Good Looks” is a sharp deconstruction of modern dating, delivered via a driving rhythm section, new wave synths, and an unforgettable hook. The glam rock influences are on full display, most especially with Art’Ecco’s shimmering falsetto and fuzzy guitar tone, but the song’s sharp swaggering style paints over a surprisingly heartfelt look at the artificiality and disposable nature of online dating. That marriage of old and new is at the heart of Art d’Ecco and works to brilliant effect on “Good Looks.” Meanwhile, the accompanying video plays in reverse, beginning with Art d’Ecco in his full persona, complete with the white face paint and bob haircut, before slowly stripping away the layers.

Art says of the song and video: “I was thinking of how the analogue way of dating — ‘I’ll introduce you to my friend, I think you’ll like each other!’—or how certain ways of engaging in entertainment need not apply in the future. We’ve got technology that we can offload all of those things to — like, I can see whatever I want, whenever I want, and if I want to go on a date with someone who’s got black hair and brown eyes and is 5’10, I can find that in this little app. And I just feel that you’re leaving so much of the human experience on the table when you do that. I find the whole modern way of dating and meeting people to be a bit vapid and superficial, so I wanted to take a shot at that.”

Watch the song and video below. Art also answered a few questions for us on the video and what he has coming next. Check them out below. Standard Definition is out now via Paper Bag Records.

What is the inspiration behind the “Good Looks” Video, What do you want your fans to take away from this Video? What does it mean to you personally?

I find the whole modern way of dating and meeting new people to be somewhat superficial. It has morphed into a branding sell - a carefully curated aesthetic that’s packaged into bite sized swipe-able images and clips. Good Looks takes a playful shot at all of that. The video is a sort of backwards reveal, an easter egg, and a nod to the future of Art d’Ecco.

Can you share a bit about your songwriting process? And what do you think makes a good song?

I write alone - demoing and tinkering with sounds and experimenting. Then I bring in players who excel at the vibe and themes I’m working towards. We all head into a proper studio and track to 2” tape, a few happy accidents here and there, and voila - an album is born.

How have you been spending your pandemic time?

I spent all of it writing and recording my magnum opus. More on that to come soon…