“As I Roved Out” — a standout cut on Sam Amidon’s new record, Bright Sunny South — just arrived with excellent visual treatment from director John Hardwick. For a simple, banjo-backed tune on the surface, there’s something haunting, off-kilter even, that he brings to this old Irish folk tune. The video starts off simple, too, with Amidon introducing the song’s narrative alone in a wooded clearing:
This song is about how you might be out on a cold winter’s night — maybe you’d bring a bottle of wine — and head out into the woods, into the mountains ’cause maybe you’re trying to find some sort of inspiration. You look around, but at a certain point as you get out there, the sun goes down and the shapes of the trees start to emerge. They start to remind you of people you were trying to remember… or people you were trying to forget about. It’s full of inspiration you weren’t intending.
Before long, drummer Chris Vatalaro shows up along with disorienting hints of stop-motion surrealism. Watch it above. Meanwhile, Amidon recently played a live Pocket Show rendition worth checking out: