WATCH: Near Tears Makes Impotent Cocktail of Feeling In New Video “Head Gonna Hurt”
WATCH: Near Tears Makes Impotent Cocktail of Feeling In New Video “Head Gonna Hurt”
Words By: Brianna Vacca
Truth be told, heartache and hangover don’t mix. Lust and alcohol formulate an impotent cocktail and then it is written up in a song. Southern California native Near Tears, moniker Justin Dorsey specifically from Whittier, California, knows the story all too well. Near Tears’ latest single, “Head Gonna Hurt,” foreshadows the inescapable morning after remorse after falling in love and then hitting the ground hard. The unconventional sonic configuration sounds as if it was hand-picked from an ’80s songbook, then dipped and battered in voguish rock-‘n’-roll makings. The song sandwiches itself between Madonna-esque imagery and Joan Jett arias.
“Head Gonna Hurt” unfastens with tiered vocals conjugated by a flash of electric cherried off with a minimalistic shake. Akin to Blondie’s “Call Me”, the song’s stamina is electrified as it welcomes an immovable pulsative kick. Its rhythm is sustained throughout as the song’s embodiment makes a pit stop through every monumental 80’s influences’ anthology.
The Sheryl Crow and David Byrne lovechild raised by rock icon Blondie’s lyricism depicts that poor decision as Dorsey sings, “I’m outside your house getting drunk in the car / Promised myself I wouldn’t take it this far / Now I’m laid out on your lawn again / Giddy like an idiot / I don’t think I’m coming back from this.”
The 25-year old singer + songwriter shares, “You know the moment you decide you’re gonna have the drink that’ll put you over the edge for the night? The drink that, once it’s drunk, you’re in for a wicked hangover the next day? There’s a moment like that in love, when you decide you’re all in, even though you know it’s probably not gonna end well. I wrote this when I was driving out to meet someone I was newly dating and I thought to myself, ‘My head is gonna hurt so bad after this.’ And I went ahead and fell in love anyway.”
The music video for “Head Gonna Hurt” presents Near Tears in an array of sensuous scenes as her intention is to, “bring sexiness back to rock music.” She is glistened by luminous chroma and all the glitz and glamour to light the New York skyline.
Dorsey’s live performance is just that: glitz and glamour. Accompanied by Kassie White [bass], and Elyssa Hayrapet [guitar], “Head Gonna Hurt” is the impeccable assemblage of angst, a heavy heart, and buoyancy foolproof for the stage.
