The core duo of guitarist/vocalist Stef Johnson and drummer Jodi Dunlop established that now-signature sonic foundation with their heralded debut, Desire’s Despair, and its follow-up, Still Life on Fire. The pair became known for their delectable rock-rooted, reverb-drenched dream pop that perfectly meshes modern vibes with vintage charm.
Dunlop and Johnson first united through a mutual love of the arts, painting together in any spare time they could carve out. But that partnership born of colors on canvas soon became one of organic, unfiltered rock and roll with tinges of everything from punk, garage, and indie rock to alt-country, classic pop, and a lot more. Their unique sonic concoction has only grown more potent in the time since.
Mise en Scene have turned heads even on the oversaturated stages of SXSW and major international festivals like Germany’s Reeperbahn, The Great Escape in the U.K., and Spain’s Primavera Sound.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the music video for their latest single “Love & War,” which is out now via Light Organ Records. Firing off with a guitar hook and drum beat, the song marries pop punk, garage rock, and power pop for an infectious fist-pumper. The music accompanies Stef and Jodi as they dance the night away in front of a deserted storefront as if blowing off steam after some sort of cathartic, eye-opening experience. Indeed, this song has the feel of venting, letting something off your chest with rock and roll fervor and enjoying the hell out of it. The lyrics definitely resonate in a universal way for anyone who has been through a rollercoaster relationship.
Stef on the song:
“We write a lot about the trials and tribulations of love and relationships, it’s just one of those mysteries we continue to investigate in our songwriting. This song is a play on the old saying ‘all is fair in love and war’ but it’s also about the insecurities that accompany falling in love. It can feel like a battle. You’ve caught the feelings and now you can’t send them back, you’ve been caught and now you’re a prisoner of love. We can feel threatened when we are falling in love because we’re in such a vulnerable position to potentially fail and have our hearts broken. There’s a chance we might lose the war of love, it scares us. We want to love and be loved but that’s a difficult thing to allow yourself to do. Sometimes we hurt people when they get too close to us. Love and war can feel like a beautiful but dangerous dance, there is strategy involved. Sometimes we fight when we are in love so that we can “win”, establish dominance and feel less vulnerable, other times we want to fight for the sake of it – to test someones’s love and dedication. We operate in our own self interest in the pursuit of love and in war. One thing we know is that the world has been falling in love and fighting wars since time began and with this song, we investigate the similarities that inherently exist between love and war.”
Stef on the video:
“It’s a make shift world now with all these restrictions during a pandemic. We took to the quiet streets of our small town where we pranced in front of an laundry mat that also has an ice cream parlour that TURNS HARD ICE CREAM INTO SOFT ICE CREAM! This place is a huge part of our childhood and we wanted to honour it’s vintage vibes under florescent lights while we lip-synced for our lives, slaying the song while whipping out our fiercest dance moves. Shante we both stay!”
WATCH:
For more music and info visit miseensceneband.com.
