Premiere: Grinspoon’s Phil Jamieson exclusively unveils the new video for the exuberant single ‘Lights On’ with news of debut solo album and tour dates as icing on the cake.

We are very pleased to be able to bring you an exclusive look at the new video for the track ‘Lights On’ from the legendary Grinspoon singer Phil Jamieson.

‘Lights On’ is a pacy and exuberant little number: inveigled with the kind of spicy bravura and attitude we could expect from the singer of one of Australia’s most beloved and iconic nineties bands. With Oscar Dawson from the beloved Holy Holy sharing production duties, what could be better?

The guitars crunch with a satisfying earthquake fuzz, helping to form an insistent forward motion, while Jamieson’s velvet vocals, lined with just a hint of grit and a touch of falsetto in the chorus, glide effortless over the thundering rhythms. The track swaggers, struts and poses with an arch glance, a studied pose and an almost glam rock stomp. The lyrics are louche and urbane:

If I let you back in would you close the door
This joke is wearing thin and I have run out of words tonight

Jamieson says of the track:

It’s been a journey for ‘Lights On’, going through many iterations and arrangements and what not. It’s a fun song to move shoulders and hips to – and its release also means I’m closer to releasing the album! The track might be about a bank heist? At its core, it’s about always keeping your heart in place for the person that you love. But it’s also about memories that might have betrayed you in some ways, and maybe about stealing money and maybe about hiding it. Maybe it’s about a bank heist, Oceans 13, Oceans 8. And it also could be about saying: no matter what, I’m gonna kindof hang in there, I’m gonna be there. So sentimental!

The video (directed by Arlo Cook (Bob Evans, Gretta Zilla), puts on full display the wry, sardonic performance of Jamieson: a born star with a surfeit of style and enigma driving in a monochrome world, enlightened by an impeccable dress sense and flashes of self-deprecatory humour. Co-starring with a magnificent convertible automobile, Jamieson exudes a sense of lavish sixties-flavoured indulgence with a Cary Grant aplomb. It’s a mesmerising visualisation, mixed with some dynamic live shots, which bounces perfectly over the euphoric falsetto chorus and the cathartic joy induced from thundering guitar riffs.

Jamieson has also announced the release of his first-ever solo full-length album ‘Somebody Else’, due out on Friday, July 29 which, on the evidence of this track, should be something quite special. You can pre-order the album here.

Even better news: you can catch Jamieson and his band on the road promoting the new album – details below and tickets available here.

Feature Photograph: Ian Laidlaw

Written by Backseat Mafia