For all of you city dwellers out there, there’s a harsh reality about the people that surround you: The vast majority of them will move away into suburbs, or other emerging enclaves where they might be able to afford to buy property (or simply the cost of living), while fat cat real estate developers continue to vertically build upon the city that they left behind. Harsh, I know. But US Girls’ Meg Remy makes that explanation so much more palatable on “So Typically Now.”
The new tune from Remy (who happens to be one of the most furiously fantastic live performers on the planet) and her Toronto band is soaked in modern disco sunshine. But it just serves to soften the blow she takes at the nefarious capitalists who are sucking the soul out of our cities. “Traitors with loans, they run this show, so you sold off your condo. You’re shutting it down, they’re drawing it out, you always get what you want, though,” she sings over ripping synths and soul diva backing vocals. It’s a shimmering way to paint how bunk real estate bubbles can be, where money rules people’s state of flux instead of the people themselves.
The new video clip, directed by Remy begins with a drone-eyed view of concrete getting poured on new building projects. It takes a slapstick turn when construction workers start pop-locking, oblivious to the effects that the high-rise condo they’re building will have on the city around them.
Watch the video for “So Typically Now” above.