PUP have given fans a surprise double release, unveiling a painstakingly handcrafted music video for “Concrete” alongside a brand new standalone track, “If This Is It.”
While “Concrete” first appeared on last year’s acclaimed album Who Will Look After The Dogs?, the Toronto punks have finally revealed the visual that has been quietly taking shape for almost a year. Directed by Sterling Larose, the video is made entirely using analogue stop motion animation, with more than 2,300 individual handmade frames created by 13 different artists. Every single frame is presented as a unique magazine cover, tabloid, zine or fake advertisement before being photographed frame by frame.
Alongside the long awaited video comes “If This Is It”, a previously unreleased song recorded during the Who Will Look After The Dogs? sessions, giving fans another fresh taste from the band’s most recent era.
Speaking about the project, frontman Stefan Babcock admitted the band genuinely thought the video had disappeared for good after months without any updates.
“Months passed and it seemed like it had disappeared into some technical abyss never to be seen again,” he said. “Then a year later, seemingly out of thin air, Sterling and the video surfaced.”
Babcock also praised the enormous effort behind the project, highlighting that the entire video was created without the use of artificial intelligence.
“It took Sterling and 13 designers and animators hundreds and hundreds of hours, physically creating thousands of individual frames. The video was made with no AI, just immense care, patience, and endless frustration on the part of the artists.”
PUP released Who Will Look After The Dogs? last year and have barely stopped touring since. Their busy schedule continues this summer with appearances at Outbreak Festival, Rock Werchter and 2000trees, before returning home to Toronto in August for a special co headline show with Jimmy Eat World celebrating the tenth anniversary of The Dream Is Over, which they’ll perform in full.
Fans can stream the new song now and watch one of the most ambitious DIY music videos the band has ever released.
