Track of the Day: Def Nettle- 'Invisible'

Post-funk/Alt band Def Nettle returns with new single ‘Invisible’, which drops today. The band is a project of producer and vocalist, Glen Brady. This new release sees Brady share writing duties with guitarist Ronnie Carroll and bassist Ely Seigel.

Although heavily inspired by punk rock and new wave musical themes, the new track is flooded with rock n’ roll nostalgia, emanating the sound of Eagles of Death Metal and Thin Lizzy. Still, a funk and dance floor sensibility forms the song's backbone, created by the use of whirring synthesisers and fx.

Lyrically, the single borrows inspiration from a conversation that took place between vocalist Glen Brady and a fellow musician after his reading of Bono’s recently-released book, Surrender. The heated exchange which covered themes of begrudgery, what it means to be Irish, and Northern Ireland, evoked for the vocalist his formative years as both a writer and musician. Brady was transported back to that time through the characters he met in Surrender, having encountered some of them during his nascent years.

The single is infused with a particular Irishness, which is especially reflected in the opening line’s sarcasm, "It’s a grand day for drying…" and the all-encompassing Irish colloquialism, "Ahh, sure look".

Speaking on the new track, Glen Brady has said, “There are references to religion - ‘testifying’ - and the idea of being invisible as an artist that most musicians and artists feel as they develop their craft.

Lyrically, ‘Invisible’ is inspired by the feelings and emotions surrounding my introduction to songwriting as a teenager, that time before realising that I would write songs and make music myself.”

The accompanying music video, which was created by Brady, sees the band’s members animated by AI technology, resulting in otherworldly 'sci-fi effects'.

Discussing the video, the artist continued, “I felt that the contemporaneous nature of AI was an appropriate concept to include against the backdrop of ‘Invisibility’ as certain artistic disciplines begin to be taken over by AI technology."

"The concept of the video creator as invisible, like an AI character, is melded with AI animations of eyes, nettles, broken glass, storms and other themes that come up in the lyrics of the video. In a sense, the video images are a collaboration between artificial intelligence and me as the artist."

Stream the video for ‘Invisible’ below.