You’d be hard pressed to find a music video that’s as anxiety-driven as Sean McVerry’s recently released “Burning Out,” a narrative short film of sorts that explores what happens when everything goes completely wrong. Shot as a side-by-side comparison over the course of a day, “Burning” shows several key moments, contrasting positive outcomes with negative ones, with the latter sequence of events coalescing with McVerry driving away in a Hyundai from an angry mob. The final moments frame the music video as a tongue-in-cheek commercial for Hyundai itself, a parody of the solutions offered by consumer goods to life’s problems. Against the humor of these video, the track itself is bombastic synth pop jam, complete with percussive electronic beats and ’80s influenced textures; these elements all heighten the drama of McVerry’s lyrics and vocal performance, contributing to a final output that is as explosive as it is perfectly weird.
McVerry will perform at Rockwood Music Hall on December 12th. Watch the video for "Burning Out" below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo by Jesse McFadden