by Myles Tiessen (@myles_tiessen)
“Instant Lawn” is the second song released by Hooper Crescent for their digital double single via Spoilsport Records. The first single, “Best In Town,” was released in November of last year and showcased the band’s DIY disposition and ability to blend fervent melodies with alternative post-whatever instrumentation. Although the band describes their sound as ‘post-something,’ the easiest categorization (because bands just LOVE it when critics put them in boxes) is 21st Century post-punk — settling in a similar space as Omni, or early Parquet Courts.
Certainly more catchy than its A-side companion, “Instant Lawn” builds on the feverish, one-take feeling consistent in the rest of Hooper Crescent’s discography. The looping guitar riffs and minimalist drum pattern make space for profound fuzzy guitar solos that follow the chorus.
“It was born from the backdrop of a post-JobKeeper pandemic economy and turns its lens towards the artificial lifestyles that emerge when inequitable housing models go unchecked for too long,” the band says of “Instant Lawn.” You can feel that sentiment in the way the band sings. Frustration and discontent make their way through the playful melodies and memorable riffs.
“To settle down in hell, you need half a mill’/ A line of plastic trees, to forget the smell,” sings Sam Cummins, reflecting on the disparity between the privileged and the destitute derived from pandemic-induced economic collapse.
The music video features similar yet less apparent allusions to the themes of class and economics present in “Instant Lawn.” By way of stop motion animation, collages of suburban homes are swallowed up by the grass the community was built on, and coins fly through the sky following the sun in an Icarus-like pursuit. When we see shots of the live band, they stand in front of a green-screen that runs through videos of factory manufacturing. Honestly, the video initially feels quite heedless until you recognize these subtle visual cues as further extensions of the track’s themes.
The DIY video has a similar aesthetic to a child’s storybooks and is endearing in many regards. At the end of the video, the band’s playful nature is exposed when members humorously groove to the music and laugh at their juvenile dance moves. It’s wickedly wholesome for a song about economic fallout.