White Hills have a new video for “Attack Mode” off the band’s upcoming LP Stop Mute Defeat due out May 19th on Thrill Jockey. The group’s bassist, Ego Sensation, returns to do the visual honors here, and, like the track itself, the imagery is politically motivated. White Hills’ guitarist Dave W. stars as “Attack Mode””s psychedelic impresario, and he haunts its’ industrial corridors and video-patched control room when not busy unleashing the track’s volcanic guitar work. Meanwhile, making creative use of various split-screens, we watch newsreel footage of police in riot gear, generals gathered at their round tables, politicians golfing, as prisons run amuck and Jerry Springer guests fight one another.
It’s a total clown show, but even as these control freaks spin their webs of power, Dave W. asserts, “All the answers can be found.” In case you don’t believe him, the imagery changes to present a collection of powerful souls who have affected change in the world like Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King–before finishing with shots of peaceful protesters from this year’s Women’s March. If those who’ve championed the good fight don’t give pause to the powerful few, then hundreds of thousands of average citizens marching in the streets sure should. Attack Mode!
