Pittsburgh’s The Local set a bold example in their gritty new single “Maybe I Will,” a hearty screw you wrapped in a folk-punk appeal to common sense.
RIYL: Wilco, The War on Drugs, My Morning Jacket
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Sometimes the best conflict resolution starts with shutting up and walking away. Fighting doesn’t always solve problems, but it can easily make them worse: One false move, and sizzling embers explode in a blaze of ire. Pittsburgh indie rock band The Local set a bold example in their gritty new single “Maybe I Will,” a hearty screw you wrapped in a folk-punk appeal to common sense.
I won’t fight today,
or maybe I will.
Gonna get high today
‘cause that’s the way I know.
So don’t lay that old bullshit on me.
I ain’t stupid boy, I ain’t too blind to see.
And if you’re gonna run your mouth
Then be kind enough to step
right to my face.
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the music video for “Maybe I Will,” taken from The Local’s upcoming EP Reverie (out May 18, 2018 via Wednesday Records). Directed by Adam Peditto, the “Maybe I Will” video indulges in the song’s boiling frustration; there’s a sense of knowing the world is broken and needs to be fixed, but we’re weighed down by not quite knowing how to fix things. “‘Maybe I Will’ expresses our frustration with the nastiness that’s been so openly displayed by people over the past few years,” The Local tell Atwood Magazine. “It’s folk punk, pure and simple. We’re quietly telling everyone to f@ck off.”
“Mutiny,” the band sing stoically in their one-word chorus. The Steel City band resist the urge to stoop down to lower, uglier levels of communication, but it’s so hard to keep a level head when everyone’s sinking to their worst selves. Thus, we watch the video’s protagonist continuously walk away from his partner, thereby avoiding confrontation – but at what cost?
I won’t go your way
or maybe I will
Gonna step far away
‘cause that’s the way I go
“I wanted to explore the feeling of loss and nostalgia in the video for ‘Maybe I Will,'” director Adam Peditto explains. “The protagonist explores landscapes that are filled with memories of his past. The more he chases the enigma, the more vulnerable he becomes. By the end of the video he realizes that he has been led to a place far from where he was hoping to be.” You can run, but you can’t hide; there comes a time when each of us has to engage in our conflicts and fight our battles.
The Local may not provide an answer to society’s nastiness, but they start us down a good path: One that, for all its exasperation and aggravation, encourages us to take one step back and reflect before taking two steps forward and dealing with our problems like rational, well-meaning human beings. If “Maybe I Will” teaches us anything, it’s that you have to engage eventually – so you might as well do it the right way. Think before you act, perhaps?
Stream “Maybe I Will” exclusively on Atwood Magazine; The Local’s Reverie EP is out May 18, 2018!
Watch: “Maybe I Will” – The Local
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? © Kristi Jan Hoover director: Adam Peditto
