Nostalgia can often bring about happy memories. People like to reminisce about better days gone by, yet as Give Up explores, the idea of nostalgia can be tiresome, leading to a complete and utter distaste for it.
The Brighton-based quartet released ‘Nostalgia’ as part of their ‘Laugh At Myself’ EP in September, and today they’re premiering its video with Already Heard.
While vocalist Ashwin Bhandari proclaims their hate for nostalgia, that hasn’t stopped Give Up from going sentimental for the video. Aided by director Tom Vyas-Middlecoat, who drove six hours from Wales, the video for ‘Nostalgia’ was filmed on an original Nintendo Game Boy Camera!
Give Up started out as a lo-fi acoustic solo project for Bhandari. However, it’s now grown from self-proclaimed “blunt, confessional acoustic songs” to a breezy mix of indie, shoegaze, and punk. Joined by Matt Johnston on drums, Lucy Roth on bass and Jarred Perez on lead guitar, ‘Laugh At Myself’ showcases a jangly and energetic set of five songs with ‘Nostalgia’ being among its highlights.
“‘Nostalgia’ is about the frustrations of our generation fixating on memories from our teenage years – knowing that as we get older we will only become more insufferable about it,” explains Bhandari. “The majority of visual media that comes out now is mostly a remake/remaster or reboot that rarely does anything better, and often ruins the legacy of the original. I often think to myself; “what is the point of living past a certain age if all you’re going to do is reminiscent about the past, knowing that you can’t go back there and things will never be the same?”
On the unique (but straightforward) idea behind the video for ‘Nostalgia’, Ashwin told us “Tom (Vyas-Middlecoat) had wanted to shoot a music video for a band with one for ages, so we figured it was a no-brainer. I’m a big fan of videos that don’t have intricate stories, just homies hanging out and singing along.”
‘Laugh At Myself’ by Give Up is out now on Everything Sucks Records.
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