Canadian indie stalwarts the Hidden Cameras returned with Home on Native Land last year, joining Peaches for a show at legendary Toronto venue Massey Hall in August. Now, footage from that performance has been released in the form of a music video for "Counting Stars."
The clip documents bandleader Joel Gibb performing with a nine-piece stage ensemble that includes a 13-year-old banjo player, pedal steel, piano and backing vocalists.
As for the tune itself, Gibb explained its meaning in a statement that reads:
"Counting Stars'" is a jangly, upbeat song at heart that begins Side B on our new record Home on Native Land. It comments on religious presumption and its hypocrisy. It's a song I wrote years ago. The main metaphor: holier-than-thou people counting stars while alive on earth as they imagine ascending to a heaven that either "never knew [their] names" or more likely doesn't exist. Didn't fully realise until I sang the song live, how the words "all in heaven" from the chorus are written awkwardly high and almost unreachable to the voice.
You can hear the song come to life by watching the live video for "Counting Stars" down below.
The clip documents bandleader Joel Gibb performing with a nine-piece stage ensemble that includes a 13-year-old banjo player, pedal steel, piano and backing vocalists.
As for the tune itself, Gibb explained its meaning in a statement that reads:
"Counting Stars'" is a jangly, upbeat song at heart that begins Side B on our new record Home on Native Land. It comments on religious presumption and its hypocrisy. It's a song I wrote years ago. The main metaphor: holier-than-thou people counting stars while alive on earth as they imagine ascending to a heaven that either "never knew [their] names" or more likely doesn't exist. Didn't fully realise until I sang the song live, how the words "all in heaven" from the chorus are written awkwardly high and almost unreachable to the voice.
You can hear the song come to life by watching the live video for "Counting Stars" down below.