ALTYEG

Calgary-based Canadian indie-rockers Sunglaciers have released the music video to “Fakes”, the second single off their upcoming record due to release March 29th, 2024.

 

 

 

Described as a “loaded post-punk rager about image in the digital era,” (via mothland records), Sunglaciers is back with a cheeky, catchy banger. Sprinkled in between fast-paced percussion, groovy guitars, and the band’s signature post-punk synth, “Fakes” is a critical eye towards online media consumption.

 

“Filter – the bad things disappear”/ “discomfort, feel old feel tired feel out of touch” describes the disconnect in this new era of, ironically enough, increased global connection. When you can have the world at your fingertips with everything available and accessible to you within a moment’s grasp, what do you really have?

 

It’s not a brand-new premise as bands in the post-punk era (and especially in the popularization of the internet in the 90’s) from Joy Division to Radiohead have notably lamented the increased interconnectivity. The former explored such themes in tracks like, “Transmission”, a tale chronicling similar themes of isolation and disconnect. This one in particular feels pertinent as the Sunglaciers line “filter – the bad things disappear” speaks of that, perhaps selfish, desire most of us reckon with on a daily basis: the need to ignore the bad. “Transmission” takes the audience on a mission of escapism – the line “dance dance dance dance to the radio” is a call to arms. Sunglaciers in “Fakes” takes its listeners one step further and suggests that we are already there – the call has been answered and now we are left wondering…what next?

 

We get an idea of the aftermath of what our hedonistic search for escapism looks like: “I’m anxious, always acting up/ And acting, you gotta be like somebody else”.  The quest to escape has failed. We’re left anxious and frustrated – left on a loop of endless scrolling.

 

That being said, an idea doesn’t need to be original to be appreciated. You can argue that each iteration of this theme of disconnect is a sign of the times. In the dawn of Snapchat, Instagram, and now TikTok, it’s easier more than ever to curate what you see. “Filter – the bad things disappear” speaks to that notion.

 

“All style/not a lot of substance. Shut out/shut out the noise” is the counter reaction to the escapism that we sought after. Amidst all the grit that social media in particular has painted over, "Fakes" feels like the yearning for that same authenticity we were perhaps so eager to ignore all those years ago at the beginning of the Social Media age. 

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A little like Talking Heads, a little like early Joy Division, Sunglaciers is an act to keep an eye on.