Sleigh Bells debut “I Can Only Stare” video

Sleigh Bells debut "I Can Only Stare," video.

Sleigh Bells have today shared their new video for the single, “I Can Only Stare,” the music video, is the directorial debut from the independent filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip / Queen Of Earth) along with the band’s Derek Miller. Sleigh Bells, play their next show on October 27th in London, England.

Alex Ross Perry said the following about the video: “I had never been asked to direct anything, at all, ever, prior to Derek reaching out via Instagram about whether or not a collaboration would be something I might consider. I was flattered, and immediately interested. I knew from their prior videos that Sleigh Bells had a particular aesthetic and I was interested in finding ways to bring my working methods to that table. Then instantly, I felt this was a song I could hear a hundred or so times in the filming and editing, which also proved necessary.

From our first conversation, it was clear that Derek and Alexis had a blessedly specific vision for how this video should look, and feel. It was almost like being asked to direct something somebody else had written. However the extent to which the band trusted me to realize these ideas, from shooting on my preferred format of Super 16mm film with my regular cinematographer Sean Price Williams to using rear projection instead of green screen for certain scenes, made me feel like an equal partner whose ideas pushed the concept to places no other director might have pursued.”

The band’s Derek Miller said the following about the collaboration: “The video follows three doomed women, all played by Alexis. It’s bleak but hopefully inspiring, too. Most of us have probably felt like one or all three of these characters at some point in time. I know I have. Making this was cathartic. We had the privilege of working with Alex Ross Perry, one of my favorite young writer/directors, Sean Price Williams (badass Director of Photography) and a really, really great crew. Alex’s last film, Queen of Earth, was one of my favorites of 2015. There’s a tense, ominous quality to it which I hoped he would bring to the video. He did. His decision to shoot on Super 16mm film helped avoid the slick crispness we had grown tired of with digital cameras. It was a great experience. And a huge debt is owed to Robert Richardson, my favorite cinematographer. We ripped Mr. Richardson off big time for the rear projection screen performance footage.”

Sleigh Bells tour dates:

10/27/16 London, UK @ The Dome
11/11/16 San Diego, CA, USA @ Observatory North Park
11/12 – 11/13/16 Los Angeles, CA, USA @ Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival
11/15/16 San Francisco, CA, USA @ The Independent
11/16/16 San Francisco, CA, USA @ The Independent
11/18/16 Portland, OR, USA @ Wonder Ballroom
11/19/16 Seattle, WA, USA @ Neumos

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