The artsy, dancy, jittery Brooklyn combo Public Practice have been putting together a pretty solid rollout for their debut album Gentle Grip. Last fall, before they announced the album, they dropped a Gang Of Four-inspired funk-punk bass bomb called “Disposable” on us. Upon detailing the LP, they showed off their poppy and upbeat side with “Compromised,” a song that incites involuntary finger snapping whenever I play it.
Today the band is back with “My Head,” a third distinct flavor from the LP. This one finds Public Practice locking into a syncopated groove derived from reggae and African pop as filtered through the Talking Heads, Blondie, and the Waitresses. Like the rest of the Public Practice catalog, it’s not reinventing the post-punk and New Wave wheel, just showing how vivid these touchpoints can still be when pumped full of life by gifted songwriters, arrangers, and performers.
Singer Sam York directed the “My Head” video, which is a bit like a ’60s dance party breaking out at the start of a Bond movie. Here’s what she had to say about it:
The video shoot for “My Head” was Public Practice’s last social activity before we went into quarantine here in NYC — the final dance! Josie and Jon, who edited the video, were the last two people I saw, passing off the hard drive with the footage and walking home listening to the news, not knowing I would be spending the next month and then some inside my apartment in social isolation. With lyrics “I don’t want to waste my time / I don’t want to fade away” combined with the visual of the dancers, each isolated in their own little world, the song and video feel strikingly relevant for these strange times. This video was created on the eve of isolation, edited entirely in isolation and is now coming to you while many of us are still stuck at home, but hopefully now we’re all dancing.
Watch below.
Gentle Grip is out 5/15 digitally and 6/26 physically via Wharf Cat Records. Pre-order it here.
