Fencing or Dancing? Here's Other Lives' Video for "Reconfiguration"

Portland-based, Oklahoma-spawned hirsute trio Other Lives remove themselves completely from the video for "Reconfiguration." Instead we're left to watch two masked opponents battle it out on the floor. What begins as a swashbuckling duel morphs into a battle of agility and grace. According to singer Jesse Tabish the two "the two fencers representing the duality of the self."

"We knew we wanted to depict the battle between our primal nature as humans and our desire to be civil and harmonious, but we weren't sure how we wanted to visually represent that," Tabish continues. "Ollie Wolf, a director out of London, came to us with the idea and we thought it was a great fit, and certainly one we never would have thought of, which made us drawn to it even more. We felt like the contrast between the aggression displayed in fencing and elegance in dance was interesting way to represent the inner conflict the song was written about."

Sonically "Reconfiguration" will find favor with fans of Alt-J—it's nimble and hypnotic in its restraint. Lifted from their forthcoming third album Rituals, out in May, Tabish adds: "The dialogue in the song is pretty minimal, but the conflict between primal and rational is definitely a common theme throughout the record."

As for what we can expect from Rituals as a whole: more diversity, more orchestral instrumentation. Roll on May.

Other Lives Tour Dates
5/06 - Masonic Lodge @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery - Los Angeles, CA
5/07 - Club Bahia - Los Angeles, CA
5/09 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA
5/11 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
5/12 - Neumos - Seattle, WA
5/13 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC
5/16 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
5/18 - recordBar - Kansas City, MO
5/19 - Off Broadway - St. Louis, MO
5/21 - Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN
5/22 - Metro - Chicago, IL
5/23 - The Pyramid Scheme - Grand Rapids, MI
5/25 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON
5/26 - Fairmont Theatre - Montreal, QC
5/27 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA
5/29 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
5/30 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
6/01 - Rock & Roll Hotel - Washington, DC
6/02 - The Southern - Charlottesville, VA
6/03 - Haw River Ballroom - Saxapahaw, NC
6/05 - 3rd & Lindsley - Nashville, TN
6/06 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA
6/10 - Fitzgerald's Downstairs - Houston, TX
6/11 - Mohawk - Austin, TX
6/12 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX
6/13 - Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK
6/16 - The Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ