Watch Butch Walker’s Ominous New ‘East Coast Girl’ Video
In contrast to the rollicking sound of the music, Butch Walker‘s video for “East Coast Girl” does not have an upbeat outlook. Instead it peruses a dystopian society where an ominous dictator has taken over. Billboard premiered the video on Wednesday.
The black-and-white clip opens with a warning signal. And while a subsequent scene shows Walker and a woman appearing to be taking a carefree ride through sun-kissed streets, a dictator has emerged and all around them a militant state has taken over. Scenes of gun-toting enforcers patrolling, people getting beaten up, buildings burning and helicopters buzzing overhead follow.
In the tune, Walker moves between spoken word and singing. “Everything is going pretty par for the course/ I got back problems, gray hair, craving a Porsche,” Walker says early in the song.
“Do I get a Lamborghini or a gold tooth?” he jokingly told Rolling Stone when discussing his lyrics. “I don’t know if there is a category for people that write songs [about midlife crises], but I’ll probably be the spokesperson for helping guys get through their mid-life.”
As the video and the couple’s ride around town progresses, more people join them and the clip ends with an unexpected twist.
The song hails from Walker’s eighth studio album, Stay Gold, which came out last month. Prior to its release he unveiled the title track and his duet with Ashley Monroe, “Descending.”