Exclusive Video Premiere: Dylan Gilbert “Good News” (2020)

Dylan Gilbert

North Carolina singer-songwriter Dylan Gilbert continues to tease the release of his forthcoming solo album, I’ll Be The Lakebed, with the release of a new music video. Gilbert, a founding member of Charlotte-based genre-bending punks Hectorina, teamed up with director and performer Sarah Ingel for the music video for “Good News”. A week out from the album’s official release date, we’re excited to bring you the exclusive premiere of that video. 

“Good News” is another one of those songs that has become weirdly timely thanks to the events of 2020. In many ways it’s a song full of contradictions. It’s optimistic and dreamlike, but also laced with irony and melancholy. Or as Gilbert puts it: “In a lot of ways I feel like it’s an optimistic song, but there’s a sadness because the images of the lyrics are so out of our reach.” The song also went through its fair share of changes and revisions, with Gilbert believing the early drafts were “too pointed and too preachy”. Gilbert wanted to ensure he wasn’t just another “loud, angry voice”.

The Sarah Ingel directed accompanying video captures the single’s underlying melancholy and message neatly. The figure is buffeted by the endless barrage of the twenty-four hour news cycle, whilst also trapped within its pull. According to Ingel, “The video is about being trapped in a cycle, fluctuating between numbness, fear, pain, shock, and anger. With so much going on, we can become consumed by the daily barrage of terrifying images — but we have to break the cycle, be “Good News” and fight for a better future.”

In 2020 that message perhaps couldn’t be more pertinent. Break the cycle, enact change – even if it’s just on a personal level. Check out the video below, and you can pre-order I’ll Be The Lakebed HERE.

“Good News” is out now. I’ll Be The Lakebed releases October 2nd. You can keep up to date with Dylan Gilbert through Facebook, Instagram and via his Official Website.

Dylan Gilbert also has two upcoming livestreams:

Fri October 16th | Petra’s Facebook Page | 6pm-7pm EDT
Sat November 14th | YouTube | 6pm-7pm EST

Header Image by Amy Herman.

Simon Clark

Books Editor. An admirer of songs and reader of books. Simon has a PhD in English and Comparative Literature. All errant apostrophes are his own.