Poor Finneas. After falling down an elevator shaft in the video for his last single, “For Cryin’ Out Loud!,” his heart gets kicked in its ass in his new “Cleats” video. Obviously, he’s learned a lot from teenage heartbreak, as the overall tone of the song is upbeat and tongue-in-cheek. Finneas sings the lyrics as an address to his younger self with all the wisdom of the intervening years, knowing he was barking up the wrong tree all along — but everything’s obvious in hindsight.
Finneas plays a fly on the wall in the video as his teenaged self hangs out with a girl from the soccer team — honestly, bro, you did this to yourself — until he works up the courage to make a move. Naturally, he promptly goes down in flames, but like… the song is called “Cleats” for cryin’ out loud! (See what I did there?)
For Cryin’ Out Loud is also the name of the producer-songwriter’s upcoming album, on which he steps out of the “bedroom producer” mindset and works with a full band — which sounds like another step toward making that musical with his sister Billie the two have been brainstorming for a while.
You can watch the video for “Cleats” above.
For Cryin’ Out Loud! is out 10/4 via Interscope Records. Find more information here.