Trains are a brilliant mode of transport – smooth movers, comfy seats and large windows to watch the world whisk by. Lately, I’ve been spending more time on these speeding bullets and loving every minute of it. The trips feel like a cheap thrill, an opportunity to check out of real life for a period.
Ange Armstrong of indie band Telenova (alongside Josh Moriarty and Edward Quinn) also dig locomotives. So much so, their new single “In The Name Of Your Love” was predominantly shot on one.
“I love the symbolism of trains…transitions and crossroads, your life splitting off into different directions…crowds of people all moving in one direction but on completely different paths – all colliding in this one little box.”
“In The Name Of Your Love” explores the pulling power of love, where it takes you and what you have to go through to get it. As Ange fills me in: “It’s about being called up and out of yourself into something bigger. The constant motion in the video enacts that, the wind moves the scarf around my neck, the people on the train sweep through the carriage like a flood.”
It begs the question: how much of that motion, the force that lifts us towards something, is within our control? And how much of it is simply happening to us? These experiences can be jarring, uncomfortable even, but also rich and true.
For most of the video, Ange is pinned inside a train carriage, squished between daily commuters. Shot in the innards of an old Hitachi train, there’s no need for set design or green screen. The setting gives the clip an added kick of realism. Ange explains that shooting these sequences was super rewarding. Working with a motley crew of extras, actors, and dancers felt purposeful and important.
“Real people in a real space felt like real movie magic, and the compositional opportunities have always really inspired me. Making a stationary train carriage feel alive, like it was racing by through camera movement, physical movement and lighting tricks was awesome.” – Ange
What made it even sweeter was the temperament and eagerness of those working there, which is actually the Newport Railway Museum in Melbourne. “The place is run by the most beautiful (mostly retired) volunteers who are all big fans of trains and make sure they’re all restored and cared for.” – Ange
When she’s not swept up in the rat race, Ange rides in the backseat of a car, a red scarf around her neck, and finds herself tangled in sheets of red material. In her mind, this song has always been red, referring to the colour plenty throughout.
“Red is passion, red is love, red is also anger and frustration. All four of those emotions run through the lyrics…There’s an urgency to this song, in the same way there’s an urgency to the colour red.”
In contrast to the realism of the train carriage, which naturally fed into Ange’s performance, the red room scenes were a lot trickier to pull off. “I’m basically in this tiny red box, and the whole crew is huddled in front of me with a big camera. Everyone’s just staring while I try to tap into all these intense emotions and seeing mini fits of rage and heartbreak play out.”
Ange reckons she laboured through it, but from where I’m standing, she did a cracking job, especially considering she has no formal acting chops. To drag those feelings to the surface, in a setting that is exposed, takes a fair bit of bravery.
The scale of work behind this video is not lost on me; it’s an ambitious production. None of it would have been possible without Ange’s close friend and choreographer, Zoee Marsh. Seeing as the two women are already so close, Ange speaks to an almost telepathic synergy they shared on set.
“I’d say, “I want the bodies in the train to feel like a surge of water flooding the carriage”, or “less jagged, I to ebb and flow” and she’ll just go YES, I was thinking the same thing exactly, and she’ll clap her hands and say a few words to the dancers, demonstrate something quickly, point here and there, and suddenly the whole vision just plays out before your eyes.”
The track I’d coin a hooky head bop. Ange’s vocals glide sweetly over electric guitar and cheerful percussion, all anchored by a chorus that burrows deep into your brain. Interestingly, Josh shares that the lyrics draw from Gospel, a style the band loves to write in. Listen closely, and you’ll catch nods to higher powers.
“Now I cry, and I curse, and I scream at the heavens above, but it’s you that I want, and I’ll bleed in the name of your love.”
“In The Name Of Your Love” is just one of 11 tracks on their forthcoming LP, The Warning, out February 27. Zooming out, Josh tells me he was initially reluctant to include it at all, unsure where it fit or even belonged. “This was the hardest one to get right and mould into our world. It took ages to shape in the studio. I’m happy we persisted, though… it feels kind of 80s-inspired, which is not something we normally gravitate to.”
The more artists I speak to, the more this pattern holds: the songs that feel awkward or unplaceable at first often become the cornerstones of a catalogue. And this has all the markings of one of those.
Telenova will soon be gallivanting across cities in Australia and Europe. Explore their full tour dates HERE and watch the full video below.