Jeff Tweedy continues his illustrious solo career, which he launched after years of fronting the Chicago-based indie rock group Wilco. Now gearing up for his upcoming album Love Is The King after announcing it with two singles, Tweedy shares a wacky video alongside his brand-new song, “Gwendolyn.”
Directed by James Fleischel, Tweedy’s “Gwendolyn” video tackles cameos in a time when people are encouraged to keep their distance from each other. The visual opens with Tweedy walking in front of a camera with a mask on. He takes it off, revealing someone else’s mouth over his. With each new verse, a new mouth appears to lip sync Tweedy’s lyrics. “It’s a little wacky and a whole lot of fun,” Tweedy said about the visual. “A special thanks to mouths of our friends and family who participated!” Those participants who lent their smiles include some big-name stars like Jon Hamm, Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, Courtney Barnett, Elvis Costello, Nick Offerman, and many more.
In a statement about the album, Tweedy said it first started as a way to soothe himself during the pandemic lockdown:
“At the beginning of the lockdown I started writing country songs to console myself. Folk and country type forms being the shapes that come most easily to me in a comforting way. ‘Guess Again’ is a good example of the success I was having at pushing the world away, counting my blessings — taking stock in my good fortune to have love in my life. A few weeks later things began to sound like ‘Love Is The King’ — a little more frayed around the edges with a lot more fear creeping in. Still hopeful but definitely discovering the limits of my own ability to self soothe.”
Watch the “Gwendolyn” video above.
Love Is The King is out 10/23 via dBpm Records. Pre-order it here.
Source: https://uproxx.com/indie/jeff-tweedy-gwendolyn-love-is-the-king/