In his newest music video “Steve’s First Bruise” 21-year-old [Briston Maroney](https://www.instagram.com/bristonmaroney/) takes us back to his days of playing house parties in humid basements, when the only stage lights were the sporadic and abrupt flashes from iphones, and the only thing separating him from the chaos of the audience was a mic. The video, directed by Joey Brodnax, begins with the dry and throaty lyrics _I want to be eaten alive_, and instantly we see the audience moving in on Maroney, iphones raised and swaying like lighters in fists. Soon, audience members drop to the floor, sprawled beneath Maroney, and suddenly begin yanking a long multicolored rope from his mouth: the crowd is unraveling him from the inside out, like tugging too hard on the loose thread of a knit sweater.
Following his most recent EP _Indiana,_ “Steve’s First Bruise” is the first of his “Miracle Singles” series, created alongside Jim Abbiss. The song itself was penned on the spot during a sound check in London, and the lyrics are cut with a raw helplessness like having hands tied behind your back, but unsure of what the rope is.
On the song’s conception and lyrics, Maroney explains, “I played the two chords of basically the entire song for like an hour in a parking lot in Washington before the last show of our tour with Liz Cooper, and loved the energy but couldn’t crack the code of lyrics. We were tracking another song with Jim \[Abbiss\] in London that wasn’t going well, and I just started playing that guitar part in between takes and we ended up cranking it out in like 6 hours. It was an awesome and new experience for me to move so quickly!”
Below check out the premiere of “Steve’s First Bruise,” and tour dates below with Cold War Kids!
9/17 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
9/21 – Indianapolis, IN – Holler On The Hill Festival
10/5 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
10/8 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Jones Assembly (w/ Cold War Kids)
10/9 – Dallas, TX – The Rustic (w/ Cold War Kids)
10/ 10 – Houston, TX – The Rustic (w/ Cold War Kids)
10/11 – San Antonio, TX – The Rustic (w/ Cold War Kids)
10/12 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Music Festival
10/14 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf (w/ Cold War Kids)
10/15 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
10/16 – San Diego, CA – Voodoo Room @ House of Blues San Diego
10/19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Moroccan Lounge
10/20 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
10/24 – Bristol, UK – Rough Trade
10/25 – Manchester, UK – Deaf Institute
10/26 – Glasgow, UK – The Hug and Pint
10/27 – Leeds, UK – Brudnell Social Club
10/28 – London, UK – The Lexington
10/30 – Brighton, UK – The Hope and Ruin
11/1 – Paris, FR – Pitchfork Festival
11/2 – Den Haag, NE – Crossing Border Festival
11/3 – Brussels, BE – Botanique / Witloof Bar
11/5 – Hamburg, DE – Molotow Sky Bar
11/6 – Berlin, DE – Badehaus Berlin
11/10 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
11/12 – Portland, OR – Holocene
11/13 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
11/15 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
11/16 – Denver, CO – Lost Lake Lounge
11/18 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
11/20 – Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
11/21 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
11/23 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In
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