Altos’ self-titled 2011 debut is a record that still hums and reverberates three years on, filling the air with a post-rock din that alternates between plainly gorgeous and deeply unnerving. It’s a record that comes to define a decade—it didn’t land at number 12 on our list of the 50 best Milwaukee albums of the 2010s (so far) for nothing.
Likewise, the 2012 video for Altos’ leadoff song, “Sing (For Trouble),” has left a lasting impression. Directed by Sean Williamson (Heavy Hands, former Hot Coffin frontman), the video is a widescreen version of the band’s already widescreen sound, casting the expansive group in a beautifully rendered short film. Now, two years later, Williamson has released a new video for another track off of Altos, “Never Named.”
Shot entirely on Super 8 film, and on location in Milwaukee and Spring Green, Wisconsin’s Shitty Barn, the video captures the Altos trekking across the state, loading their van, playing a show, and occasionally pulling off some clown-car-esque tent shenanigans. (Check the 3:00 mark.) All throughout, “Never Named” soars above the proceedings.
Watch the video below, and check out other works from Williamson (including Heavy Hands, now available VOD) at worldwidedirt.com.
Altos – “Never Named” from Sean Williamson on Vimeo.