We are delighted to share the video premiere for the atmospheric ‘Man in Charge’ from Brent Amaker DeathSquad, a sister act to Seattle’s Brent Amaker & The Rodeo. The orginal version of the song, by The Rodeo, has been a big hit, racking up millions of streams. But now the DeathSquad truly make this their own with the introduction of Darci Carlson as co-vocalist. The way Amaker’s and Carlson’s voices work together is fabulously intense, as well as adding an interesting thematic dimension with a female singing about the ‘Man in Charge’.
It’s brooding and sinister, building tension though Carlson’s almost spoken vocal and with the driving rhythm. When Amaker’s deep, sonorous voice is added to Carlson’s, the mood darkens further. The song is taken from the DeathSquad’s new album, ‘Hello’, now due out on 17th July.
While work with The Rodeo was paused, Amaker found himself playing with a collection of female musicians in Seattle and the DeathSquad was born. The rotating cast of band members includes Darci Carlson (Bass & Vocals), Nozomi Momo (Drums & Vocals), Bryan Crawford (Drums & Vocals) and Izzie White (The Boss). The band’s output includes a mixture of new material and songs by The Rodeo, re-worked, refreshed and made new. A feature of the DeathSquad is the combination of the male and female vocals – the album promises more of the same.
Amaker spoke to AUK: “The original Brent Amaker and The Rodeo track, Man In Charge, has already appeared in Big Little Lies on HBO and received millions of streams worldwide. This new version is unique because a woman (Darci Carlson) is now the character calling the shots as the ‘Man in Charge’. The lyrics never sounded better in this context.
When it was time to shoot the video, we were faced with a Covid-19 quarantine. Darci decided to isolate in Idaho back country. I stayed in Seattle. We had some live footage left from a show we played in Seattle, which turned out to be the last event held at Neumos before they were required to close. The rest of the footage was self shot in quarantine and our director (Sean Downey) pieced it all together. I love what he did.”
Indeed, for a video created during the lock-down, this is the perfect, intense accompaniment to the song. Enjoy.
