Premiere: Krief searches for his ‘Idols’ in new music video

There’s no denying the unmistakable truth of this old adage: We are our own worst enemies. We fight off demons for a moment or two, but the siren buried beneath beacons to us once more. Time after time, we fall back into the web of plentiful desires and mind-numbing vices – to cope, to feel alive, to hide from reality – and it puts us right on track to feeling not much of anything. Montreal soundscaper Krief (full name Patrick Krief) – most known for his extensive work with indie-rock band The Dears – marches into impending emotional doom, twisting his pen in search for a way back out. With his “Idols” music video, premiering today, he lets his addiction to bad habits flood the senses. It’s a smokey kind of elixir, and his aimless musings loop him through a mental haze. “Last night I swear I saw love in your eyes child / You’re broken hearted and you’re searching for love sweet love,” he sings. The emotion hangs on his tongue, emitting acidic droplets that burn everything and everyone with which he comes into contact.

He treads water and can soon only wind through the same pathways as before. “This is the last time, I swear,” he maintains. But even he knows that those words are nothing but figments of truth. On the song, Krief writes to B-Sides & Badlands over email, “The song is a tongue-in-cheek song about trying to drop bad habits – addiction, meaningless relationships, etc. – with ‘last time I swear’ being something uttered almost routinely in the process of trying to get it together,” he says. He interlocks such “dark lyrics” with “a super upbeat melody,” as a motion to carve deeper into the complexities of human nature.

He continues, “The song has me observing my former self and in the process, apologizing to some of the people I may have upset along the way. When I first started mumbling the melody, ‘last night I swear I saw love in your eyes’ just came out of my mouth, and it made me wonder what I might have been feeling to utter these words.”

“Out on the streets and we’re lurking for lust sweet lust / Bartender, pour me another dream while I say, ‘Last time I swear,” he sings. His voice prances between angelic melancholy and sweltering optimism, both tangling sharply together and unraveling just as severely. He marks each line with a wry wink – and his own discoveries quickly become your own.

The video, directed Kate Yablunovsky, who frames Krief’s emotional journey with an appropriately somber aesthetic, was filmed inside Bruno Rosato’s casting studio and makes a subtle reference to long-standing TV series “The Simpsons.” Krief explains: “I couldn’t help but make reference to [that show] – when McBain is being directed to say ‘up and at them’ and he simply cannot change the way he is saying it. Kate did her best to get different expression out of me, and at the time, I felt like I kept giving her the same exact take, a la McBain. Ultimately, she did get me out of my bubble, and I’m quite pleased with it!”

“Idols” is a ripe essential from his latest solo record, 2019’s Dovetale. Krief has also worked as part of the collective Black Diamond Bay, but, as he notes in press materials, he “felt like I was celebrating my previous work by closing it off with this record and trying to get more in touch with my roots as a songwriter,” he says. “I feel like I’m making one last record
this way before moving on to something else.”

Krief heads out on a German tour this weekend and sets his sights on a mini concept record in 2020.

Watch “Idols” below:

Here are his upcoming tour dates:

Sat, November 9 – Kulturzentrum Dieselstrasse e.V. / Esslingen Am Neckar, Germany

Sun, November 10 – Blues Garage / Hannover, Germany

Tue, November 12 – Kofferfabrik / Fürth, Germany

Wed, November 13 – Zehner / München, Germany

Thu, November 14 – Oberfränkisches Textilmuseum / Helmbrechts, Germany

Fri, November 15 – Oberfränkisches Textilmuseum / Helmbrechts, Germany

Sun, November 17 – Synagoge Wawern / Wawern, Germany

Mon, November 18 – Christuskirche (Evangelische Emmaus Kirchengemeinde Düsseldorf) / Dusseldorf, Germany

Tue, November 19 – Förderverein Freunde vom Franz / Aachen, Germany

Wed, November 20 – Südbahnhof / Krefeld, Germany

Fri, November 22 – Storchenturm / Schwarzwald, Germany

Sat, November 23 – Transvocale Festival / Frankfurt An Der Oder, Germany

Sun, November 24 – Objekt 5 / Restaurant Ruine / Halle (saale), Germany

Tue, November 26 – Privatclub / Berlin, Germany

Follow Krief on his socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website