DJ Shadow unveiled a different kind of pop-up video in the new lyric video for “Our Pathetic Age,” the title-track from his most recent album.
The song is a mid-tempo disco ballad that features a characteristically dramatic vocal performance from Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring. In the video, directed and animated by Adam Dunn, Herring’s words appear in a ceaseless barrage of pop-up ads that flood the screen of an old computer. There’s some respite from the chaos and clutter during the instrumental breaks, including a cameo from an early tech favorite — the classic 3D pipes screensaver.
DJ Shadow released Our Pathetic Age last November, marking his first album since 2016’s The Mountain Will Fall. The new LP was split into two sections, with the first part comprising new instrumentals, and the second boasting a set of vocal collaborations. Along with Herring, the album featured De La Soul, Run the Jewels, Nas, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Paul Banks and Shadow’s early Solesides collaborators Lateef the Truthseeker and Gift of Gab.
DJ Shadow will kick off the European leg of his tour in support of Our Pathetic Age Thursday, February 20th. A North American run is scheduled to launch May 5th in Atlanta and wrap May 23rd in Los Angeles.