Tag: Endearments

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Endearments Return with Shimmering and Anthemic “Marianne”

Brooklyn-based indie outfit Endearments — Kevin Marksson (vocals, bass), Anjali Nair (guitar) and Will Haywood Smith (drums) — closed out last year by signing with Trash Casual, who will be releasing their Abe Seiferth–produced, full-length debut An Always Open Door. 

Slated for a March 6, 2026 release, the nine-song An Always Open Door will include “Real Deal,” “Summersun” and “Marianne,” the album’s third and final pre-release single. “Marianne” is a rousingly anthemic ballad that sees the band balancing introspective, heart worn on sleeve-driven lyrics and a cinematic sound. Seemingly nodding at some of the great 80s movie soundtrack tunes, like Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Think About Me” and Psychedelic Furs’ “Pretty In Pink,” An Always Open Door‘s latest single contends with long-distance longing, mixed messages and the possibility that your feelings and investment may be unfulfilled — or worse, unrequited.

“‘Marianne’ is about the uncertain and vulnerable moments at the beginning of a new relationship,” the band’s Marksson explains. “It’s a song about longing for someone who is far away, physically and emotionally, and what it takes to break down those barriers. We wanted the music video to emphasize that metaphor, with the band playing in a liminal place, bright and surreal, before the mirrors that are reflecting us literally shatter.”

The accompanying video continues their ongoing collaboration with director Paul Desilva.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Endearments Return with Yearning and Self-Searching “Summersun”

Brooklyn-based indie outfit Endearments — Kevin Marksson (vocals, bass), Anjali Nair (guitar) and Will Haywood Smith (drums) — closed out last year by signing with Trash Casual, who will be releasing their Abe Seiferth–produced, full-length debut An Always Open Door.

Slated for a March 6, 2026 release, the nine-song An Always Open Door will feature “Real Deal,” which firmly cements their unique, emotionally dense and lush synth-based take on indie rock paired with earnest, lived-in lyrics and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

An Always Open Door‘s second and latest single “Summersun” is a deceptively upbeat and sauntering anthem that’s underpinned by a couple of bittersweet realizations: Time’s inexorable and endless march forward. And as you’re getting older, you’re also changing. Sometimes, those changes are on the margins but in tumultuous times, like ours, they can be major, startling unexpected and weird changes. And as a result, other than some fundamentally intrinsic qualities, we can all feel a bit like ships passing each other in the night, not quite understanding why or how you might feel so lonely and misunderstood. The song also contends with what it really means to fit yourself into someone else’s life for companionship and the bitter frustration and disappointment that comes from lying to yourself and your own reflection.

Continuing their ongoing collaboration with director Paul Desilva, the accompanying video, which was shot on Super 8 film follows two lonely Brooklyn residents on an introspective journey to Coney Island. Edited in a split screen, so that we see each one’s individual journey, the video captures something that’s deeply universal. We’ve all been that lonely sort mending a broken heart or left a daze after some massive, unexpected loss.

“‘Summersun’ is a song about losing track of yourself in the expectations of others, and how easy it is to fit into a mold someone else has made for you for the sake of love or companionship. The bridge of the song is meant to be a cathartic release — the guitars give way and then build up again to reinforce this feeling of wanting to be truly known, even while you still pretend to be someone that you’re not. We wanted the video to really convey that melancholy and self-searching. I love the way it cuts two stories together to show how our personal journeys often overlap in ways both internal and external.” 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Endearments Shares Anthemic “Real Deal”

Brooklyn-based indie outfit Endearments — Kevin Marksson (vocals, bass), Anjali Nair (guitar) and Will Haywood Smith (drums) — closed out last year by signing with Trash Casual, who then released the cinematic, “Cannon,” a track that nods at Simple Minds and Tears for Fears, as well as contemporaries like Nation of Language.

The trio’s Abe Seiferth–produced, full-length debut An Always Open Door is slated for a March 6, 2026 release. The nine-song album will feature the band’s unique emotionally dense and lush synth-based take on indie rock. An Always Open Door‘s first official single, the nostalgia-inducing, New Order-like “Real Deal” showcases the band’s ability to pair earnest, lived-in lyrics with rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses. Thematically, “Real Deal” explores the dynamics of a slowly decaying relationship that culminates with the sudden and heartbreaking realization of being just an accessory to someone else’s desires.

Directed by Paul Desilva, the accompanying video follows a story of a drunken hookup and the self-conscious revelations that occur in its aftermath.

“‘Real Deal’ is a song about feeling like you’re just a supporting player in someone else’s romantic idealization,” Endearments’ Kevin Marksson explains. “I hint at Apollo and Daphne in the lyrics and the idea that someone can be so focused on what love ‘should’ feel like that they forget there is a real person on the other end. The music video plays with that concept in a fun way by having our heroine wake up in a strange apartment after what seemed like a perfect evening, but maybe wasn’t as perfect as she thought.”