Palehound Cosplay Tony Soprano in ‘My Evil’ Video
Palehound go full Tony Soprano in the video for “My Evil,” reenacting the show’s iconic opening credits sequence. They drive while chomping on a cigar, stop at the NJ Turnpike turnstile for a ticket (do those even exist anymore?), drive past Pizzaland, and even dine at Holsten’s, the restaurant the Sopranos visit in the final scene of the series. The video ends in the driveway that served as the Sopranos’ home on the show. Throughout, the artist, whose real name is El Kempner and who uses they/them pronouns, sings about coming to terms with the evil they feel inside while playing some tense folk-rock guitar.
The track will feature on their upcoming album, Eye on the Bat, out July 14. Kempner co-produced the album with Sam Evian (Big Thief, Cass McCombs).
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“‘My Evil’ is about the extremely humbling experience of realizing that yes, you are the asshole,” they said in a statement. “I found myself acting in ways I was ashamed of, and realizing how capable I was of hurting somebody when I was trying so hard not to. Sometimes when you try so hard to be a ‘good person’ you’re actually swinging so far and recklessly that you make a full circle back to being a shithead. It can be very hard to forgive yourself, and this song is a portrait of that struggle for me.”
They also explained the importance of The Sopranos to them. “When I got the idea to make a video based on the intro credits of Tony driving through Jersey, I knew I had to do it with my friend Richard Orofino,” they said. “He’s possibly even a bigger Sopranos fan than I am and he did an incredible job mapping out a lot of the original locations from the show, including Tony’s house that we see at the end of the video. This whole thing was super DIY, just me and Richard (and his camcorder) having the time of our lives and being embarrassing superfans. It’s not exactly shot for shot of the original but, to brag for a sec, I’m truly amazed at how close we were able to get it.”
Palehound have also announced that they will be touring in support of the record this fall.
Palehound tour dates:
Oct. 17 – Syracuse, NY @ The Lost Horizon *
Oct. 19 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
Oct. 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry *
Oct. 21 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage *
Oct. 23 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall *
Oct. 24 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall *
Oct. 25 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Purgatory *
Oct. 26 – Nashville, TN @ Blue Room @ Third Man *
Oct. 28 – Austin, TX @ TBA
Oct. 29 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Factory Obscura
Nov. 01 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge **
Nov. 02 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah **
Nov. 03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room **
Nov. 04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel **
Nov. 06 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s **
Nov. 07 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios **
Nov. 09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court **
Nov. 10 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall **
Nov. 11 – Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast **
Nov. 14 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry **
Nov. 15 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon **
Nov. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle **
Nov. 18 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar $
* w/ Empath
** w/ alexalone
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