Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many musicians have taken to using green screens to shoot their videos — such as Phoebe Bridgers’ recent “Kyoto” adventure. Now, 5 Seconds of Summer have done the same, enlisting Andy DeLuca to shoot a psychedelic video for their new song “Wildflower.”
The clip features the band in a highly saturated world surrounded by Nineties smiley faces, mushrooms and rainbows. “You know you are my favorite fantasy,” they sing, as hypnotic colors swirl around them. “A fatal love song.”
“Wildflower was the wildcard of the album,” bassist Calum Hood said in a statement. “A song that has opened new avenues for this band to explore. Most importantly it just feels good to listen to and disconnect for a minute. We really feel this video reflects that too and hope you all enjoy!”
DeLuca noted that the video was inspired by MTV, “the stuff I grew up on and loved,” he said. “Everyone filmed their parts at home with an iPhone and later sent the footage over to me. We quickly learned animation and drew up several blooming flowers, and also created the trippy colored backgrounds using milk and food dye. I then spent the next couple of days/nights editing nonstop until my eyes bled and the video was completed. It definitely has pushed us to create something we normally wouldn’t, using only our brains and our hands.”
“Wildflower” appears on the pop band’s fourth album Calm. They previously released the singles “Old Me,” “No Shame” and “Teeth,” the latter of which featured Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.