Slingshot Dakota has been around for more than a decade, but the D.I.Y. husband-and-wife punk-pop duo — Carly Comando on keys and Tom Patterson on drums — is only now releasing its first video. The video for "Paycheck" was directed by Josh Finck and takes place in the tiny basement of a century-old house in Easton, Penn. As the video plays out, we see cuts of Comando hammering her keyboard and Patterson playing drums, contrasted with bright flowers covered in plumes of smoke. In an interview with NPR Music over email, Comando writes that Finck "wanted to tie the album's photography and concept into our first music video, so he incorporated a ton of floral imagery and broken glass. There is metaphorical use of light/darkness around the bright flowers, like the black/white smoke-like plumes coming from the flowers."
As Comando plays, she sings about living paycheck-to-paycheck, telling the story of a woman who just wanted to be a singer. While cranking out tight, catchy hooks, she pleads: "So let's just stop pretending we have nothing in common." "Paycheck" is an anthem for small-town punks; it's meant to be heard in basements, which makes this video fitting. It's music you're supposed to mosh to, getting out every last emotion as you deal with the comedowns that happen while "trying to make it."
"Paycheck" is from Break, out now via Topshelf.
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