The Tea Club digs up old home movies in new “If I Mean When” video

Philly prog band The Tea Club just released a new and delightfully vintage video for “If I Mean When,” from last summer’s If/When LP.

Directed by Adam Peditto, the video intercuts several elements: singer-guitarists Daniel and Patrick McGowan performing in their homes, shots of dilapidated old buildings, the recurrent image of a man wearing glasses over his ski mask and carrying a gun on his back, and the occasional phrase: “The night passes,” “Meanwhile, elsewhere,” and “Technical difficulty.” Most of the footage is old and pixelated, and the band confirmed that it was taken from home videos made between 1998 and 2002.

The song itself is an acoustic ballad on the inevitability of terrible things. With lyrics like “There’ll be nothing else to live for if we’re fighting to survive,” and the repeated chorus of “I say if, I mean when,” The Tea Club has come to terms with their own pessimism. Although the sublter intonation of acoustic guitars and a piano solo during the bridge push the song towards a more folkish sound, the commanding presence of the McGowans’ voices and harmonies retains that orchestral, epic sound native to progressive rock.

If/When is available to purchase here. Watch the video for “If I Mean When” below.