I saw The Pinheads live for the first time a couple of weeks ago up on the Northern Beaches in Sydney. It was probably the most manic, entertaining displays of rock ‘n’ roll I’ve seen in a very long time. The dudes (and girl) are nuts. They swung from rafters and writhed on the ground, conjuring the ghosts of psychobilly madmen The Cramps and 60s Nuggets-inspired garage. True to their influences, they have now bestowed on us the brilliant piece of film that is their 50s sci-fi horror clip for If I Have To Wait.
Watch as aliens get stranded on earth, get chased by giant dog monsters, discover the beauty of VB and bro down with The Pinheads in their clip for If I Have To Wait.
The track is a pure lo-fi 60s twang, with elements of surf, soul and rockabilly seeping through crackly garage production. Their debut single I Wanna Be a Girl was a lot more upbeat rock ‘n’ roll, with fuzzy riffs and a big singalong chorus. If I Have To Wait is much more despondent, showing off the band’s versatility and depth. There are some great spaghetti-western guitars and drunken crooning vocals from frontman Jez Player. He ends up sounding a little like Jim Morrison towards the end as he howls, “If I have to wait / Just another day / I’m gonna waste / I’m going to waste.”
From the track alone you might expect some sort of desert wasteland as the ideal locale for a Pinheads clip. But no, the band are all about the 50s sci-fi horror vibes. The clip follows the journey of three intergalactic neighbours as their spaceship hits some technical troubles that have something to do with VB and they find themselves crash-landed in a field that looks strangely like the Illawarra bush-land.
Dispirited, the trio go in search of help. Instead they become enthralled by the humble garden hoses, a tub of water, leaves and crumpled VB tinnies. They find themselves being chased by a gigantic dog-monster, and in their efforts to escape, one of the three is left stranded on Earth. Thankfully ya boys the Pinnies are there to help.
The band invite the stranded alien into their jam-shed to drink tins and play tunes. Things get weird and the aliens end up picking the band up and they jam the track away on the main deck. It’s classic. Please watch, multiple times.
