Media

These New Puritans: "We Want War" (Video)

3:09 p.m. · December 6, 2009 · by Bruce Porter

These New Puritans boast their influences in a way that would be feeble pastiche in lesser hands. The British outfit was named after a track from The Real New Fall LP, and what John Peel said about Mark E Smith’s band may prove equally apt when describing These New Puritans: Always the same, always different. Thunderous tribal drumming and ominous keyboards give “We Want War” the feel of impending doom and gloom on an epic scale. A half-naked male and female couple dive in and out of water in slow motion with the frame tilted 90 degrees, which fosters its dream-sequence vibe. The Daniel Askel-directed clip is a sneak peek for the band’s sophomore album, Hidden, set for release on Jan. 18 in the U.K. and March 2 in the U.S. on Domino. [Drowned in Sound]