You can never predict the flood of post-breakup emotions. Alt Bloom (real name Ethan Thompson) first drowns in his anguish before making a sun-kissed rebound. His new song and music video “Get Back,” premiering today on American Songwriter, sheds and discards the pain, and Thompson simply gets lost in a blissful mix of house and pop.
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“One ring to voicemail / Texting babe, please / If we talk in the morning / I’ll lose another night of sleep,” he opens on the first verse. He sketches out the initial fall, before circling back for those times you plug back into a relationship, for better or worse.
The hook unpacks the cycle, musically decorated with Thompson’s signature punches. “But we can get back together / Second time ‘round it’s better,” he promises, even if he doesn’t actually believe it. ‘If we can get it wrong we can get it right / Tell me what’s good and I’ll see you tonight / We can get back together / Third time ‘round forever / If we can get it wrong then we can get it right.”
The cathartic beat beckons you in, and Thompson’s voice keeps you hooked. “This song was written after a day of fails at the studio. I came home and my roommate was working on a track, and this chorus just came out immediately. The next day the three of us went back to the studio,” says Thompson.
Produced by Brian Phillips and Devin Damato, “Get Back” began to take root and blossom in the recording studio. “By midnight that night, we had it pretty well sorted out. It showed me the importance of putting your best foot forward, failing, and doing it again, which comes across in the lyric about a failed relationship and trying to upright it.”
The visual, directed by Erica Eng, follows Thompson through the outskirts of Los Angeles, a blending of desert-dusted woodlands and gleaming cityscape. “Erica found the perfect setting just outside of LA,” remembers Thompson. “After the location was locked, it was all about creating the feel of being alone, and thinking being alone is ridiculous. Fun and intimate.”
An 11-hour shoot, the “Get Back” video hones in on Thompson’s onstage presence and sees him busting a groove inside a vintage telephone booth, on top a bus, and various other points. A majestic mountain ridge glistens in the background, adding an even higher dose of adrenaline. “It got surprisingly chilly that evening, and the last scene was in about 30-degree weather, which is cold for LA dwellers. It was laughs, pushes, and hugs all day. Very fun set,” he says.
Watch the “Get Back” video below.
Photo Credit: Ariana Dixon
