Video Premiere: Brackish – “Sincerely”

Posted: by The Editor

Photo by Jared Woord

Philadelphia based punk group, Brackish, are about to hit the Midwest later this month for the first time ever. In light of the mini-tour, the band decided to release a video for their breakout single last summer entitled “Sincerely“. Originally released last year on their EP, Worlds, the track is finally getting the TLC it has been ever-so-deserving of. Since the band was rushed into releasing the EP, they are now taking the time to slow down and re-visit the work. We also spoke to front-person, Connor Byrne about the video, the band’s future, and the finest gas stations of greater Pennsylvania.

The Alternative: Can you tell me a little bit more about the inspiration behind the video?

Byrne: The video uses found-footage, which is a medium I specifically requested because it felt right for our first video. The idea of taking things from another context and piecing them together to mean something entirely new is a place where some of our writing is coming from. We didn’t know what we would get exactly but we know we could trust our friend Ricardo Lorenzo, the director, to piece something together that felt right for the song and that’s what ended up happening. Ricky is incredibly talented, keep an eye out for his new movie “An Unlikely Story.”

The track premiered last year, what made you wait so long to do a video for it?

We rushed Worlds out June 2018 in order to have new music for our tour with Awakebutstillinbed. While I’m grateful we managed to pull that off, this EP took a hit in terms of getting the tender love and care most releases would get like: well-timed video releases, coverage from publications and radio, and marketing in general. It’s really hard to do everything by yourself, but I’m grateful we’re going back and correcting some of the missteps the right way. I love Worlds and I’m very proud of it.

You’re heading on tour soon, what are you most excited about for that?

I’ve never been to a lot of these states before and I’ve never been to the Great Lakes so I’m very excited to see all of it in person for the first time.

What is the best gas station snack for a road trip?

Big water, kettle cooked chips, and trail mix OR Reese’s (depends on how healthy we are feeling).

Wawa or Sheets? Please explain your answer as vividly as possible.

Wawa is a basic staple and Sheetz is enlightened. We grew up in New Jersey and some of us live in Philadelphia so Wawa has saved us from hunger on more than one occasion but when we get to step outside of Philly, deeper into Pennsylvania, we let our freak flags fly and get crazy ass burritos from Sheetz because Sheetz is like Grandma’s house, there’s zero rules.

Is the tour going to be focused mainly on Worlds?

We are actually writing our debut LP, and we are eager to test out how these songs play live so we are going to be incorporating stuff we have been working on but haven’t tried yet which is exciting and nerve-wracking.

What has the journey for the band looked like so far?

Honestly, it hasn’t been the easiest but I’m grateful to be where we are now. When I started this band it was on the confidence of one of my best friends, Nick (bass), assuring me these songs could work with a band because I was playing acoustic by myself at the time. We added my childhood best friend, Chris (lead guitar), who was living in Philly and our pal Eric (drums) who I newly befriended. The first iteration of Brackish fell apart as Chris and Eric left the band. Unfortunately, Chris passed away shortly after leaving the band but he wrote and recorded our releases Young People and Coming Down with us so the memories and recordings I have of us doing that together have been really helpful. I miss him all the time, every day.

Since then, my former bandmate and best friend, Tim (lead guitar), and our close friend Zach (drums), who we grew up with and also played with Nick in The Great Explainer, have joined the band and we feel totally revitalized. When we put Worlds out together last June it was the beginning of a new era for us and I think we’re in our best shape yet for this upcoming full length album.

Do you find it’s easy to find time to get together and create or is it more of a slow burn?

We’re all getting older so it’s difficult to find time together, but the nice circumstance of that being the case is we’re all very happy to see each other when we do and enjoy catching up on the finer details the group text doesn’t disclose.

What does the immediate future look like for you, other than tour?

Recording! We likely will play less shows after this tour in an effort to focus on writing. The ones we do play will help us write new material and test how they feel with an audience.

Can we expect new music soon?

That’s our main objective. I’ve been in so many projects that broke up or fell apart after an EP or a demo, this feels like my first chance to write an entire album with my friends and I’m going to do my best to give it everything I have since I’ve waited a long time.

Lastly, what are your favorite and least favorite parts of the Philly scene?

My favorite thing about Philadelphia’s music scene is regardless of what you are into there are so many talented musicians here working to make something meaningful and it’s very inspiring. Philly’s amazing because huge gifts come in very small packages like bands/writers just starting out or bands pulling their act together to make something that impresses themselves and, in turn, sometimes the entire music world.

My least favorite thing has to be how disjointed all those amazing communities feel. I don’t know a single person that listens to one style of music so the idea that we socialize strictly on our friend’s social circles or bands that sound similar just hits me as strange and unhelpful. All of us are trying to do the same thing. If we believe in each other are doing, we should be lending a hand or passing along good information to each other every chance we get. Acting too cool for people is the pinnacle uncool thing to do.

Anything else you want to add?

Let people be themselves and love them for it. Please come see us on our tour out to the Midwest, it’s very hard for us to get out often with dumb jobs. Hydrate often. Thank you for reading this!


Tour Dates:

8/17 – Trenton, NJ @ Millhill Basement
8/28 – Cleveland, Ohio @ Now That’s Class
8/29 – Grand Rapids, Michigan @ The Pyramid Scheme
8/30 – Kalamazoo, Michigan @ Shakespeare’s Pub
8/31 – Naperville, IL @ The 105
9/1 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Abandoned Tennis Courts
9/7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle

Follow Brackish

Bandcamp / Twitter / Facebook


Emily Kitchin / @deathnap4cutie


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