Seattle’s Spesh Channel Their Forebearers with VHS Recorded Video for “Teflon”

There’s always been something nostalgic about Seattle’s Spesh. Not to say that the band isn’t making vital and fresh music, but their melodies and arrangements tap into an elusive feeling of a past long gone. With gauzy post-punk guitars and punchy rhythms, their 2018 debut album Famous World on Killroom Records positioned the band as one of the city’s most swoon-worthy bands.

With the new music video for album opener “Teflon,” the band leans into the aesthetics of yesteryear. Directed by Ruben Mendez of the local group DYED, the entire video was recorded on an old VHS camcorder and shot primarily at Spesh guitar player Sergio Mirazo’s house and outside the Laurelton Apartments (which the band says they consider to be Seattle’s equivalent to the famed Chelsea Hotel). It’s in part a visual homage to Sonic Youth’s music video for “Titanium Exposè” and The 012’s “Asbestos Lead Asbestos.”

It’s a freewheeling video, letting the band be unabashedly themselves while playing their instruments in a parking lot or filtering through knick-knacks around the house. While not plot-driven, the video aptly captures the feeling and tone of the song. It’d be easy to believe this was a lost late-night MTV video gem on first glance. With tantalizing hooks and melodies that won’t leave your head for days, Spesh leans into their timeless sound with a video that feels like it’s out of time itself.

Watch the video below.