Last summer Armlock released Seashell Angel Lucky Charm, their first album for Run For Cover. Today the Australian duo are back with their first piece of new music since then, the very pleasant single "Strobe."
"Strobe" evokes Pinback's cozy guitar tones and the lo-fi charm of bands like the American Analog Set. Mellow and contemplative, it's a song that reminds you how good it feels sometimes to just slow the hell down: "That’s my friend on the phone/ We’ve been laughing all day/ That’s my dad out the front/ Think we kinda look the same." The band add in a press release:
"Strobe" is about cherishing the small, grounding moments amidst life’s chaos and challenges. It’s a reflection on commitments—both to others and to oneself—framed by a sense of cyclical motion, resilience, and the urge to return to what matters most. The music video was shot entirely while on tour across the US, UK, and Europe last year. It draws heavy influence from self-made, DIY lip-sync videos more common in rap than indie rock. We blended crossfaded tour footage with jarring overlays of stock visuals: fireworks, rosary beads, binary code, and relentless digitally rendered strobes. The result flirts with the uncanny sheen of AI-generated content that we’re rapidly becoming accustomed to. Rather than serving as a direct extension of the song’s meaning, the video clip is more of a time capsule. A collage of cultural references, personal inspirations, and all the backdrop of the digital-era zeitgeist.
Watch the self-made video for "Strobe" below.
