Hailing from gloomy, gray Portland, Oregon, Les Gold project a touch of that gloom into their witty lyrics and ear-catching melodies to create their own genre: bummer fun. Their latest single “Oh, Wolf” is no exception. While sonically moody and somber in tone, its campy video counterpart keeps anything from getting too serious. Directed by Haydn Cieri, the video is somewhere between a Scooby-Doo-esque ghost story and a nod to the lyrical theme of pretending to be something you’re not.
Band members Jenson Tuomi (vocals, guitar), Tim Kaye (lead guitar, lap steel), Cory Aboud (drums), Victor Gennaro (guitar, keys), and Jake Jarvis (bass) arrive at a spooky Pacific Northwest cabin in an old white van. They’re decked out in ghost hunter jumpsuits as they jump out of the van and begin to explore the grounds. We see glimpses of a ghost in a sheet, but it is always just out of reach as the band wields polaroid cameras and flashlights. The video culminates in a sort of musical seance that finally attracts the elusive ghost to participate in the jam session.
The song itself flips the expression, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing,” instead examining “A sheep in wolf’s clothing” – someone who is pretending to be bigger, badder, or cooler than they really are. As the story deepens, we are able to see the wolf for what it really is – someone who is weak or insecure, and hiding behind a facade (or a sheet).
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