I don’t know about you, but ‘round these parts, it's high “Twin Peaks” season right now. For my fellow Peaks Freaks, the 25-year wait for the return of the beloved cult-turned-mainstream television series came to an exhilarating head with its grand comeback on May 21.
In each of the show’s aired episodes to date, a band has taken center stage (literally) at the town’s rustic Bang Bang Bar. Chromatics, Sharon Van Etten, Au Revoir Simone and Nine Inch Nails (among others) have all been featured thus far -- and each performance has been sonically fitting with David Lynch’s overall aesthetic. If I may be so bold though, I’d like to suggest the iconic director take a listen to one of San Diego’s greatest musical treasures: John Meeks.
The singer/songwriter (who also counts multi-instrumentalist Matt Resovich, bassist Jon Kruger and drummer Tom Peart as bandmates) released his San Diego Music Award-winning album, “On a Sea Darkly,” last year -- a stunning and eagerly anticipated follow-up to his excellent 2014 “Que Vida” EP. That's all fine and well but why should Lynch have any interest in Meeks, you might be wondering? Well, few musicians/bands in town have tapped into the desert-headtrip psych-folk sound the way Meeks has over the past few years -- and if there's a particular style that oozes the "Twin Peaks" sound, this would be it. Furthermore, the new music video for “Blood Moon” (which SoundDiego is lucky enough to premiere here) is a prime example of how gosh darned eerie the whole thing is.
Filmed in locales between Ocotillo and Borrego Springs as well as Normal Heights, director Jared Armijo-Wardle places Meeks in a love triangle gone bad amid haunting visual effects, barren landscapes and the song’s densely layered alt-country exotica. With lyrics like “I spent last night out on the sea / The red moonlight fell down like blood on me,” Meeks proves that he’s a master of writing dark, brooding pieces and pairing them perfectly with his band’s phantasmal, experimental instrumentation.
“Blood Moon” is campy, a little creepy and its video is a whole lotta awesome. If it doesn’t take you to a stranger place, watch it again.
Oh, and Lynch, if you’re out there -- give the guy a call.
Listen/buy John Meeks' new album, 'On a Sea Darkly,' here. Like him on Facebook, too.
Dustin Lothspeich books The Merrow, plays in Diamond Lakes, and blogs on Gear and Loathing in San Diego. Follow his updates on Twitter or contact him directly.
