It starts out with a gruesome twist — literally. Josiah Johnson, formerly of the Head and the Heart, begins the music video for his song “Hello, Hello On Fire” with jarring imagery of violent deaths and fancy restaurants. The Twin Peaks of it all is an entree into Johnson and director Pete Lee’s vision for the dichotomy between our own self-hatred and wanting to have love for others.
Johnson has journeyed deeper into his newfound solo career, having released his debut album, Every Feeling On A Loop, in 2020. The dark track comes with alt-folk sounds that merge cinematic Radiohead-esque synths and plucky acoustic guitar, with a haunting bridge that displays Johnson’s swelling baritone vocals.
Joining heads with director Pete Lee for the accompanying music video, he depicted a story of a person who had done something that felt unforgivable, such as murder. Exploring this narrative in the track and visual, Josiah asks, “How do you hold the tension between that, and the idea that everyone is worthy of receiving love?”
Diving even further into the concept of the video, Johnson explains, “We wanted to see physically all these spiritual bodies, the ghosts we carry from our pasts, the unhealed traumas, the stories, and the fears of other people underneath all of that. Those are the seeds that grew and transformed, aided by a mighty, creative team from the Bay Area film community, into this video.”
Every Feeling On a Loop is available on all platforms now.