“To Keep & To Be Kept” by Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders featuring Sharon Van Etten was premiered overnight on The FADER. The third video from the acclaimed ‘Playmates’ album was directed by Alex Smith (Coldplay, Peaches,Iggy Pop) and is the first video to feature Jack Ladder’s band, The Dreamlanders (Laurence Pike, Donny Benèt, Kirin J. Callinan & Neal Sutherland).
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In contrast to the darkly lit video for first single “Come On Back This Way” (also directed by Alex Smith), “Come On Back…” makes use of vintage video TV equipment, and thanks to some unexpected choreography, the band resembles The Temptations if they were replacing Sparks as the last band in heaven.
Watch the video “To Keep & To Be Kept” in the exclusive FADER premiere here:
On the video, Jack Ladder said that “I’ve always wanted to make a video in a white space, the way they used to make them. I thought the song warranted a no horse shit approach. Now I’ve satisfied that desire I don’t ever want to do it again. It’s very hard on your eyes, all that white. Alex (the director) had recently acquired a studio’s worth of old video cameras from a church, and I thought we could go for that public access feeling. There might not be much to it, but I think it has an honesty. And that’s got to count for something.”
“It’s a love song that doesn’t use the word love”, he remarks on the song. “It could be more about acceptance than love. It’s practical. Love demystified. It’s about partners in crime which is a concept that’s very romantic to me.”
On collaborating with Ladder on this song, Sharon Van Etten said “I usually try to hang back because I aim to support people whenever I sing with someone, so I was cautious with the duet. I just leaned into him. It was really fun and an interesting challenge and his songs are killer. I feel lucky to have been a part of it.”
The video comes just a few weeks before they travel around Australia and New Zealand as the support on Florence And The Machine’s ‘How Big’ tour in November. One week after that wraps they leave the country for their biggest tour yet of the US, where they’ll play nine headline shows across eight cities in support of ‘Playmates’ release there on the Fat Possum label.
Press for Playmates…
“Perfect for those late nights when the walls start closing in.
– 13th Floor
“A very sleepy, lovely, romantic 1980s feel slips in over the album, amber hues, nostalgic tint. Ladder gets to trade a few lines with Sharon Van Etten on one of the album’s standouts, ‘To Keep & To Be Kept’.”
– Off The Tracks
“Underneath the hypnotic shimmer of the record’s outermost layers lies the beating heart of a wholly original artist… [Playmates is a] stunning work.”
– Renowned For Sound
“Jack Ladder’s slow-spoken baritone adds drama to everything he says.”
– The Australian (4 stars)
