[Video] Premiere: Cold Wrecks – “January First”
It was at the strike of midnight on New Year’s Day that Brooklyn’s Cold Wrecks released their latest, aptly titled single, “January First.” [It’s also probably worth mentioning that shortly after this, bassist Craig Shay handed me a shot of Malört.] The song is about “fighting back against the self-doubt of false nostalgia to push forward and grow,” according to guitarist/vocalist Mike Vizzi, and will be featured on their upcoming second full-length album, This Could Be Okay, along with the previously released “Crossing Sign.”
Sure, we can all identify with the general existential dread that comes with graduating college and/or entering your mid-twenties, but Vizzi was able to pin-point the specific moment that inspired him to write the song:
“I have a distinct memory of being 19-years-old at a show and feeling like my life was already over and that I’d totally wasted it, which wasn’t true then and isn’t true now, [so] I wrote this as a way of forcing myself to remember that I’ve always felt this way, and it’s always been wrong.
I wrote the lyrics shortly after New Year’s Day 2018. I have a habit of overwhelming myself with self-criticism, and this tendency is always in full swing around every New Year’s Eve… Last year, I was wallowing, feeling tired, jaded, and dissatisfied, somehow imagining that things used to be better and had somehow gotten worse, which is the opposite of true.”
– Mike Vizzi (guitar, vocals)
Now, one month later, we’re excited to premiere the song’s music video, filmed and directed by Rob Menzer. Although he has previously worked with Cold Wrecks on video projects [check out Cold Wrecked for Twistmas to watch Craig get very drunk], this is Menzer’s first time working on an official music video for them.
“The concept was Vizzi’s idea, but I felt it needed to be tweaked a bit, to not fall victim to being called a trope. So we focused on taking the alone guy at a party, the upset guy at work and making it more visually interesting. We also threw in some gags where we felt appropriate…
The filming process was a lot of fun… [and] I’m happy with the outcome. It reminds me of some older music videos that just don’t get made anymore that I’d love to see make a comeback.”
– Rob Menzer (director)
This Could Be Okay was recorded in September 2018 at Cannon Found Soundation, produced and engineered by Jesse Cannon (who also worked on their debut Breaking (2016) and their Savannah (2017) split with Trash Boyz) and Brian DiMeglio. The new album is expected to be released later this year. Until then, watch Cold Wrecks’ video for “January First” below, filmed live at Bushwick Public House (1/20/19), Rob Menzer’s apartment, their practice space, and BrooklynWorks at 159.
Cold Wrecks’ next show is in Brooklyn this Monday, February 4th @ Alphaville with Woolbright, Harms, and Superbloom.