Singled Out: Nathan Jacques' Shapeshifter

Alt-country troubadour Nathan Jacques is gearing up to release his new concept album "Dark Wanderer and the Bounty Heart" on September 26th, and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the single "Shapeshifter". Here is the story:

This was the last song I wrote for the record. I felt like the album was missing two things: an introduction to the villainous presence early on in the story, and another upbeat tune.

So from those voids came a groovy rockabilly romp with dark, unsettling undertones and lyrical content. I wanted to pay homage to the rockabilly greats that I love so much like Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Elvis, and Ricky Nelson to name a few. It felt natural given the time period the film/record story is set in to dip into that musical genre a bit.

And from that sound, the video idea presented itself clearly. Talk shows and musical guest appearances from the 50s, 60s, and 70s are blissfully hilarious to me. There's such charm in the ultra-staged, stiff awkwardness of them. I wanted to parody those old shows while putting my own spin on it within the world of this record. I thought it would be a fun way to bring the character of "Nathan Jacques" into the sorta meta-real world, deepening the believability of the entire concept.

We had so much fun filming this one. The goal was basically: let's authentically mimic an old talk show and then mix it up by sprinkling in modern influences we love like "The Eric Andre Show," "Jackass," "I Think You Should Leave," and see what we get.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here

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