Brian Elliot – “Better Than Dead” [Premiere]

Brian Elliot is a rather new artist to the Nashville music scene and, as such, we are happy to premiere the video for his second ever single “Better Than Dead.” If you have not heard the first single, “Blue Jean Girl“, do yourself a favor and earmark that for listening later; it’s a dose of dark pop that fittingly sets the stage for Elliot’s sound.

The second single offering, embedded above, is a densely layered lamentation on the pains of loneliness. Through fuzzed out guitars, dramatically sweeping strings and the occasionally bouncy piano, Elliot asks “is lonely really better than dead?” It’s a feeling we’ve all considered during the worst depths of a breakup but the delivery here is less despair and more detached coolness.

Visually, the grainy Super 8 footage shot in the deserts of the Southwest, or in (what appears to be) a wonderfully lit hip hotel room help to augment that sensation of wistful searching. Where better to ponder the weight of emptiness than in the vast, literal, emptiness of the desert?

Elliot’s full-length, Familiar Walk To Nowhere, is set for release in the not too distant future and we’ll be keeping an ear out for future news about when it drops. In the meantime, look him up on Spotify or follow him on Instagram at @brianelliotsound.