by Kris Handel
NYC grunge punk power-trio Debbie Dopamine released Pets, a strong EP in the summer of last year, full of noisy and distorted guitars blanketing songs of anxiety and trying to figure oneself in all facets of life. Now they are releasing a video of one of the standout songs "Swimming Pool," reveling in bittersweet and sun-soaked moments of reflection with members Katie Ortiz, Dylan Lapointe and Zach Rescignano lounging in a desolate, overgrown, unmanicured local park and various locales. "Swimming Pool" is a song full of needling guitar fills and Ortiz's breathy, sometimes charging, vocals documenting the trials and joys of growing up with dueling memories of happiness and pain.
The video alternates scenes of an oddly serene desolation with moments of the group pushing forward through natural paths and giving into the beauty of nature and the movement of the ocean. Ortiz's gesticulations throughout the video amplify the anxieties and power of the melody while her bandmates lighter moments of playing and joyfully climbing represent the moments of light that splinter through in even the toughest of moments. Debbie Dopamine have produced a video that carries contrasting messages and emotions that fit perfectly for a song with such roiling intensity yet a melody that soars and resolves with moments of solemn peace.