For a significant portion of Small Talk’s “Brothers” music video, a somber Sean Seaver, MCAS ’16, wanders aimlessly around town. After first traipsing through barren, winter-ravaged woods the band’s frontman later finds himself fleeing the rock section of a record store. Like the star of a play in which the only stage direction is “Sean abruptly stops whatever menial task he’s doing, turns, changes direction a few times, continues walking, and exits off stage left,” Seaver maintains an expressionless gaze that makes viewers wonder where the band is going with this vague video. Seaver’s restless wandering and contemplative forest meditations are puzzling, for the video suggests that even Seaver himself has no idea where he’s headed.
But maybe that’s the point.
Since the band’s recent reconstruction—with new, trippy undertones replacing the rock-heavy sound of Seaver’s Express—it seems the group is going after a new, psychedelic vibe. With the departure of Seaver’s older brother and fellow frontman Brian Seaver, the younger Seaver says goodbye to his bandmate in a music video that expresses the familiar disorientation of bold new ventures.
Now, Seaver’s mindless meandering in the music video makes a lot more sense.
Putting one purple Converse in front of the other, Seaver finally makes his way to a place where he is visibly more comfortable. Joining the rest of Small Talk for a jam session in an abandoned parking lot, Seaver sings of a Seaver-shaped hole in the band while expressing appreciation for his brother’s influence. Inventive camera angles, the group’s carefree frolicking, and Seaver’s aztec-printed tee combine to create a classic indie-style music video with the mellow mood necessary to subdue the melancholy lyrics.
The video—a nostalgic peek into the Seavers’ brotherly bond—is a sentimental yet sanguine story of a transforming band who welcomes uncertainty and runs with it. Complete with freeze frame montages synced to twinkling piano notes and grainy footage from a Seaver Family home movie, “Brothers” is a creative illustration of the old Seaver’s departure. Small Talk’s first music video is a reassuring sign that the group is headed in the right direction.
Small Talk
