"Hey! Let's go out and be romantic." That's what CTZNSHP's Jesse LeGallais shouts at the beginning of "New Brave," and we officially want to give him credit for coming up with the most direct pickup line ever. This is after we called one of the most promising Montreal bands ever last year, so apparently we like talking about CTZNSHP in superlatives. But that's cool when you're writing music this melodic and fresh."New Brave" is the second release from CTZNSHP's forthcoming album, All Things to the Sea, and it comes in the form of a video directed by Milan-based Mauro Simionato, who pairs the song with pensive closeups and images of decadent hidden spaces. As the song crawls along, the video's anxiety-inducing intro gives way to candid moments of emotional connection between friends and strangers, as if LeGallais's call for intimacy actually worked.Simionato followed a winding path to video direction, first founding Volta Footwear and running it for five years before getting into music. Now he also freelances for fashion brands and art projects around Europe and is getting ready to release a documentary called "Panama Hay" on Panama's urban disconnections and iniquities with video maker Davide Calafà.It's that interest in disconnections that might have helped Simionato capture the mood "New Brave" so effectively. As LeGallais says, "The song is about trying to handle things not working out as planned with some grace. The mental war that happens on long winter nights when you are stuck in your apartment, uninspired, watching way too many movies drinking too much and watching the hours/days/years just fly on by."CTZNSHP are spending the winter getting ready for the release of All Things to the Sea and planning a big spring/summer tour.
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