In the seriously nasty new video clip from Puerto Rican garage-punk stalwarts Los Vigilantes, the gross-out ctinge factor is pretty intense, but doesn't feel gratuitous or like a weaselly ploy for attention. "Volverá" is the third single from Al Fin, last summer's follow-up to the band's 2011 eponymous LP debut. Like its predecessor, Al Fin teeters between sugary girl-group sways and unruly, subtly sinister stompers. Not much has changed in the Los Vigilantes camp; the band left its their original homestead at Slovenly Recordings for ChaCho Records, the San Juan imprint that brought us the first taste of Las Ardillas' rambunctious punk, but otherwise there aren't any sonic shifts to speak of.
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As always, guitarist Jorge "Jota" Mundo helmed the platter at his own El Dorado Studio, and the lineup remains the same—save for some guest drumming from Giancarlo Cervoni of Las Ardillas, and a perfectly frantic sax interlude on the boisterous "Pobre Niña" by Sergio Rotman of famed Argentinian ska act Los Fabulosos Cadillas
In terms of the "Volverá" video, there's actually some logic behind the gross, crude shots it flashes through. The bloody gums and missing teeth, for instance, come courtesy of bassist and vocalist Javi Garrote, who penned the lyrics and takes lead vocals. Its central theme is of self-hate, which affords the brash bursts of eye-burning material a hint of profundity. "Volverá" raises questions about our infernal inner battles, but it doesn't offer any resolute answers. There is a flaccid dick in there, though, so maybe the message is just over our heads.We watched the NSFW video with Los Vigilantes' Javi Garrote and Jota Vigilante, who seemed to prefer marveling at the gobs of vulgarities rather than relaying any lessons to be learned. Check out "Volverá" and read their commentary below. Oh, and to those who easily hurl: Maybe watch this other clip from Al Fin instead?
NOISEY: So tell me about the video for "Volverá." Jota Vigilante: It was all made in Jota's El Dorado studio, and we filled it up with smoke. And it still smells like smoke in there. Jota: Yeah, it still smells like stale beer, or something, I don't know, smoke machine smells. Javi Garrote: We were just dealing with what we have on our fucking like bodies, like scabs. Jota: There was a friend of ours who had this really bad rash, and we figured it kind of goes with this aesthetic. Javi: And there's a floppy dick Jota: And then there's a mangina, and tape on somebody's face. Javi: The song is about being part of a shitty scene…and liking it a lot!Do you mean the scene here in San Juan? Javi: I mean everywhere. It's the same if I'm here or if I'm in the United States or wherever. I mean the song is mostly about things you can't control, like vices and things you can't control about yourself. And that's why there's creepy and weird stuff.
Who came up with the idea for the video? Javi: We came up with it in like 30 minutes Jota: There was no idea. We just kind of showed up and we had the smoke machine and the band and we had a couple of friends show up. Javi: That's it. Jota: We did whatever we could with what we had—we have a jug of blood that's still in the studio, we had my dog. Javi: We had missing teeth. We had a syringe, and a floppy donkey dick. Jota: We had a floppy dick…that really wanted to be in the video. Javi: He really wanted to be in the video. There was another scene with him where we were pouring alcohol in his anus.
And that didn't make it? Javi: No, that didn't make it! Jota: No, it didn't. I didn't see that… Javi: That was just me and him in the room. Jota: I kept telling him he was going to be very drunk and he should probably go wash it because he was probably going to puke. And then it happened.Jhoni Jackson is getting weird on Twitter.
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