Nate Ruess has had a solid run the past few years, parlaying the success of his band Fun into a solo album and features on singles by Eminem and Pink. But it all started with The Format, an indie rock band that was active in the 2000s and had plenty of success of its own.
Sam Means was the other major player in that group. Now, he’s starting his own journey, and the early returns are promising. Take the song “We’re Alone” for example, the new video for which Nerdist is happy to exclusively premiere today.
The track is a pretty and melancholy ballad that deals with issues of isolation, of feeling almost alien. Well, “alien” is a fitting term, because that’s exactly what Means’ backing band in the clip are. He told us about the video’s extraterrestrial inspiration, which popped into his head out of nowhere:
“I was at my desk, bored out of my mind, then suddenly envisioned myself behind a glittery upright piano, surrounded by a full band of aliens in sparkling robes. Why? I don’t know. But I opened my notepad and after 15 minutes had a complete video treatment in front of me. I sent it to my sister for some reason. She asked if I was on drugs. I wasn’t, but that’s all I needed to hear. My friend Jamal hooked me up with Directors, Christopher Daly & Alex Antiuk of Too Many Mangoes. They were so cool to work with and somehow managed to bring this crazy daydream to life.”
“We’re Alone” is the first single from Means’ debut solo album 10 Songs, which is scheduled for release on January 22, 2016.
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Featured image courtesy of Sam Means
