S. Carey today debuted the charming and cinematic new video for his recent single, “More I See.” Directed by Brendan Lauer, and starring Carey alongside New York Times bestselling author and songwriter Michael Perry, the clip can now be seen HERE [LINK]. “More I See” is the second song — following “Fool’s Gold” — released from Carey’s forthcoming new album Hundred Acres, which will be out on February 23, 2018 via Jagjaguwar.
“The ‘More I See’ video is the most ambitious video project we’ve attempted by the S. Carey team. We enlisted Minneapolis director, Brendan Lauer, to invent a treatment that fit the theme of the song and enhanced the sound of the track,” says Carey. “Despite the Minnesota Vikings jersey that Brendan loudly displayed on the 2-day shoot in rural Wisconsin, it turned out to be a fun time, and the Minneapolis-based team was nothing short of amazing and extremely pro! I got to ‘act’ alongside my friend and collaborator, author Michael Perry, who did a knockout job. This video is an artful presentation of Midwestern warmth and charm, and brings life to the song.”
“The music video for ‘More I See’ is about this idea that no matter who or what you are, if you’re in need of help it will find you; and that those who go out of their way to help will be better because of it,” says Lauer. “Sean’s character in the video is neither a ‘who’ nor a ‘what,’ but more of an ‘it.’ He serves as a blank canvas for the big, major acoustic notes of the song that feels hopeful in the face of great, unknown tragedy. The characters who save him embody a special kind of midwestern grace that is woven into the DNA of those who have spent their entire lives here.”
Hundred Acres finds Carey at his most confident, mature, and grounded, writing the strongest songs of his career. At its core, the album is a poetic treatise on what is truly necessary in life, a surprisingly utilitarian art project that underscores the power of enduring. Carey challenges himself and the listener to strive for a near-utopian ideal of returning to a simpler way of life, and loving those around you, to heal personal wounds.
Carey employed a smaller, more focused scale of instrumentation on Hundred Acres, centered around guitar, synths, pedal steel, strings, drums and percussion, with his soothing vocals front and center — more distinct than ever. In effect, the album’s production echoes its underlying message: the beauty in simplicity. Relying on more traditional song structures instead of the Steve Reich-ian repetitions of his past work, a new balance is struck that creates something unique. The result is a collection of poetic yet clear-eyed songs that both stand brightly on their own and tightly weave together to create a powerful album.
Hundred Acres was produced by Carey, with engineering and co-production from Hanson and Chris Messina. The album was predominantly recorded at April Base in Fall Creek, WI, and features backing vocals by Gordi on three songs, musical contributions from Casey Foubert (Sufjan Stevens) and signature string arrangements from Rob Moose (yMusic), as well as art direction and photography by longtime collaborator Cameron Wittig.
S. Carey on the web:
http://jagjaguwar.com/artist/careys/
https://www.facebook.com/scareymusic
