Watch: Alex Di Leo's "Strange Open Land" Revels in Young Love's Seduction

Alex Di Leo’s seductive indie pop jam “Strange Open Land” captures the unique thrill of young love and its dreamy allure.

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It’s insufferably cliché to call love a mystery, but young love? Now there’s a puzzle. The beginning of any courtship brings as much excitement as it does terror. Neither one of you has any way of truly knowing where any of “this” is going; you just have to ride out the waves and let life play its dirty, delightful tricks. Alex Di Leo’s seductive indie pop jam “Strange Open Land” captures the unique thrill of young love and its dreamy allure.

Strange Open Land - Alex Di Leo — Strange Open Land – Alex Di Leo

Two kids in an old car
Stolen from a dive bar
Oh, we don’t know
Barely painted street lines
Faded but we’re alright
Oh, we don’t know

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the music video for “Strange Open Land,” the title track off Alex Di Leo’s sophomore EP (released November 16, 2018 via TAM Records). A 22-year-old indie pop artist hailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Alex Di Leo has the voice and appeal of a rising star. He shines brightest on his latest Strange Open Land EP, where songs like “Brooklyn Bridge,” “Promise,” and “All My Life” convey themes of connection and estrangement through tales of travel, movement, and life change.

“I’m constantly thinking of how short our lives are and how important it is to experience new things, take risks, and to not be afraid of what could go wrong, but what could go right. Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about the destination,” Di Leo shared in his EP’s press release.

“Strange Open Land” is a fitting centerpiece for this song collection – not only because of its message, but also because of its energy. The song is a ride in itself, with jubilant Mylo Xyloto-era Coldplay riffs cascading into feelings of blissful euphoria. Di Leo, whose influences range from Arcade Fire to Vance Joy and beyond, sets himself apart through passionate singing and feelgood melodies whose emotions echo off every instrument.

“’Strange Open Land’ started off as a spontaneous thought a couple of years ago at what used to be the Redbury Hotel in LA,” Di Leo tells Atwood Magazine. “It talks about the discovery of young love and its mysterious environment. Because of the song’s vast feel, my friend/director and I thought the desert would be a perfect place to shoot the video. Since writing the song, while performing it live, I’ve realized that’s it’s ok to not know where you are sometimes. Young love is sometimes strange, and it’s ok to get lost in the strange open land.”

Young love is sometimes strange, and it’s ok to get lost in the strange open land.

Directed by Cameron Uranick, the “Strange Open Land” music video seizes upon the song’s excitement and freshness. Starring Di Leo and Moy Pickup as his female love interest, the video highlights nature’s physical beauty and grandeur, as well as young love’s enchantment. Uranick pairs these two themes alongside one another, showing how they feed off each other and impact our interpersonal experience. From driving down a barren desert road and embracing in the hot desert sand, to floating in cool water and chasing shadows in the night, “Strange Open Land” evokes the full spectrum of young love’s mystery.

It’s an intimate experience that leaves us flustered, but positively satisfied and eager for more… just like young love.

Watch the “Strange Open Land” music video exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and be sure to listen to Alex Di Leo’s full EP for more indie pop chills and thrills.