Much-loved locals and L.A. RECORD alums Tijuana Panthers put out their first full-length in too long this summer: Carpet Denim, breaking the long drought since 2015’s Poster, although they did dispense snacks like the Ghost Food EP and drummer Phil Shaheen’s anxious Devo-wave Ottofix EP in between. Carpet Denim finds them both refining and redefining their music, and the very Deadbeats-Eyes-Dangerhouse-y first-wave L.A. punk track “Generation Singular”—well, maybe first-and-a-half wave with much respect to Rhino 39—is a bracing example. It’s two anxious minutes about the unfortunately timeless topic of information overload. As Phil told FLOOD magazine this summer when Carpet Denim came out:

“I wrote a paper in one of my master’s classes about Information Communication Technology—ICT—and its effects on young adults. While collecting data and researching previous studies there was a lot of eye-opening information on the negative effects of excessive usage of ICT on emotional, physical and overall mental health. I also found a recent article on the first microchip that can and will be implanted into a human brain that will navigate the internet internally. The song is about all that and where we might be headed, ready or not.”

Now it’s paired with a live video that underscores that kind of uneasy tension between image and reality, especially with those flash interruptions that come from people taking photos instead of watching the band. Director Harley Astorga explains that deliberate decision to subvert the typical concert video, while of course documenting the unflagging enthusiasm of TJP crowds:

“The kids go crazy at the Tijuana Panthers shows. It’s non-stop high energy from start to finish. When I was asked to shoot and edit live concert footage into a video I knew it had to match that same intensity. I often found myself filming in the mosh pit, holding my camera in one hand and pushing kids with the other. I shot at 120 FPS to bring attention to specific movement and conversely shot at 5 FPS to induce an overall sense of disorientation.”

Carpet Denim is out now on Innovative Leisure—get it here! Full video credits below.

Carpet Denim: http://smarturl.it/TJP_carpetdenim

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