Brothers Carson and Erik Lund began working together as Mines Falls following a series of events - the collapse of a relationship, the passing of a best friend, the inheritance of an upright piano. Together they now make beautifully introspective-sounding deconstructed piano ballads, like this one...
Much of the recording for Thick Skin’s video was captured at the Lund’s house in Hollywood, which was also their base for recording Mines Falls’ debut album Nepenthe. The house is clearly doused in symbolism - reflecting the brothers’ move to the west coast, the coming and going of various roommates, the general history of the building. Here they attempt to capture the melancholic ambiance of the place whilst juxtaposing it’s sense of the pedestrian to the alien landscapes the brothers find surrounding their new home city. Carson and Erik cite home and transience as being two of the core themes of their album, so it makes sense for them to focus on those here.
Thick Skin starts with a gently swirling melody, vocals flowing like a stream of consciousness, hands grasping for meaning but struggling to find tangible meaning. Something about the floor giving out, text messages and radios - it feels both decidedly normal and bizarrely otherworldly. Thick gradually disintergrates, distortion and chaos consuming all. It’s a beautiful piece of music and and fitting video.