Between lead single "Sleeping With A Friend" and frontman Tyler Glenn's choice to come out of the closet as a gay man, Neon Trees continuing their exploration of new wave, smart pop and dance music with their refreshing third album "Pop Psychology." So they've decided to lean into it with the #YOLO spirited video for album closing track "First Things First," and revealed their life stories through a ton of old photos to accompany the lyrics, take a look back at their rise to fame, and reminds us that they were once just dorky, lonely kids - like everyone else!
"First Things First" is a career retrospective wrapped up in one song, buoyed along by hand claps, poptronica and a solo guitar interlude, that lyrically traces Neon Trees' journey back to their beginnings as Glenn leaving California home at age 21 to start a band in Utah with guitarist Christopher Allen to start a band in Utah and shares their passion for music. The track's message is a simple one: never give up on your dreams, as Glenn sings "You are never gonna get everything you want in this world. First things first - get what you deserve."
The autobiographical song is a bit more subdued than Neon Trees' usual high-octane pop-rock, but its thoughtful, mid-tempo soul-rock is a welcome change of pace. It wouldn't make much sense to blast through some jam at full speed while you're looking back on the past, right? In the overall concept, Glenn lyrically addresses the idea of fame vs. artistry, saying he never wanted to be so famous but at the same time wishes to sing until he dies. With the same hand, he and his entire band utilize their personal narratives as a marketing tool to promote their album with this new video.
The whole track is an exercise in oral histories in which Glenn constantly breaks the fourth wall to rap-sing about his life story to date. So the visuals that go with it are a photo and video album of the moments he references, with a little extra panache. We see Glenn sings a touching tribute to the lives of himself, his bandmates and anyone else who has wanted to find their own way in front of a screen that flashes old pictures of the band from their younger days. The end result is an exploration of the complicated idea that fame and art are inescapably intertwined sometimes, but Glenn would have you know the man over the myth, but creating the myth is a necessary evil.
"First Things First" is a career retrospective wrapped up in one song, buoyed along by hand claps, poptronica and a solo guitar interlude, that lyrically traces Neon Trees' journey back to their beginnings as Glenn leaving California home at age 21 to start a band in Utah with guitarist Christopher Allen to start a band in Utah and shares their passion for music. The track's message is a simple one: never give up on your dreams, as Glenn sings "You are never gonna get everything you want in this world. First things first - get what you deserve."
The autobiographical song is a bit more subdued than Neon Trees' usual high-octane pop-rock, but its thoughtful, mid-tempo soul-rock is a welcome change of pace. It wouldn't make much sense to blast through some jam at full speed while you're looking back on the past, right? In the overall concept, Glenn lyrically addresses the idea of fame vs. artistry, saying he never wanted to be so famous but at the same time wishes to sing until he dies. With the same hand, he and his entire band utilize their personal narratives as a marketing tool to promote their album with this new video.
The whole track is an exercise in oral histories in which Glenn constantly breaks the fourth wall to rap-sing about his life story to date. So the visuals that go with it are a photo and video album of the moments he references, with a little extra panache. We see Glenn sings a touching tribute to the lives of himself, his bandmates and anyone else who has wanted to find their own way in front of a screen that flashes old pictures of the band from their younger days. The end result is an exploration of the complicated idea that fame and art are inescapably intertwined sometimes, but Glenn would have you know the man over the myth, but creating the myth is a necessary evil.
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