F  L  A  U  N  T

 All photos by Samuel Lahoz Indie band [The High Plains Drifters](https://www.instagram.com/hpdmusic/) have been making a name for themselves with their overtly catchy anthems, amalgamated soundscapes, and tongue in cheek lyrics that tell the ever relatable stories of love lost and found. True to form, [“Since You’ve Been Gone,”](https://thehighplainsdrifters.lnk.to/SinceYouveBeenGone) the lead single which tells the story of heartbreak, serves as a taste of what’s to come on their forthcoming second album which reimagines the spark of eighties new wave with a twist of seventies rock. Today, _Flaunt_ is exclusively premiering their out of this world lyric visualizer for the single. Directed by Lars Jørgen Sundnes Skaland, the visual depicts the story of a spaceman grasping for comfort as the memory of his love recedes into the vastness of outer (and inner) space. Speaking on the record, Studnicky states, “The song was written years ago from a place of great pain. I was young, naive, and believed I had found my ‘one and only’. I was over the moon for her, so high that I could’ve been orbiting the sun, but she crashed me to earth in a fireball that burned my heart to a crisp. Being dumped by her triggered this song’s lyrics and melody. As I wrote the lyrics, I sought to capture that sense of devastation that comes from a huge heartbreak. There’d be no brave face on this song’s narrator: he feels nothing but a crushing sense of loss and longing, and he’s too embarrassed to admit to anyone that she’s gone.” The High Plains Drifters create music that embodies pure nostalgia and stories we can all relate to. Led by frontman Larry Studnicky (lead vocals, lyricist), the band includes John Macom (rhythm/electric guitars, lead/backup vocals), Mike DoCampo (rhythm/electric guitars, backup vocals), Kyle Cassel (drums, backup vocals), Charles Czarnecki (keys, accordion, backup vocals\], and Dave Richards \[bass, backup vocals).   **Why did you choose “Since You’ve Been Gone” as the first single?** The song is a good representation of our forthcoming second album’s prevailing theme: love lost, and love found (or almost found). It’s also representative of the musical influences that have been brought to bear on the new album. I write many of my songs in a “storyteller” style, songs like that were all over radio in the 1970’s when I was young and first becoming obsessed with music. But then came my favorite decade of modern music: the 80’s. All of us in The High Plains Drifters devoured 80’s music. When we can pull it off, we’re looking to mesh a storyteller’s lyrics with some of the sounds that kept us out all night in Manhattan clubs during that decade.  **What can fans expect from your second album?** It’ll be more musically-focused and probably devoid (for the most part) of the country-leaning or Americana influences that my songwriting picked up in the 70’s. We’re halfway done with the album, and (as much as I hesitate to boast) the first 6 songs are upbeat and catchy as heck. The band and our producer, Greg Cohen, have done an amazing job of elevating the lyrics and melodies I’ve introduced into the mix. The album tells some cool stories: about New York City viewed through the lens of an apocalypse (the song is called “Nuclear Winter”), about a guy pleading desperately with a married woman to bolt with him (“Ruby Run Away With Me”), and about a gal who’s missing an ex-boyfriend for some pretty messed-up reasons (“He Reminds Me Of You”).  We’ve enjoyed the moniker “genre-bending” that some reviewers slapped on our debut album, and we don’t want to disappoint. There’s even a song on this record done as a bossa nova tune. I didn’t hear it in my head that way, but that’s the way Greg heard when I first sang the demo and the band’s turned it into an amazingly sweet bossa nova song. I’ll be really curious to see how that one’s received.  * [](https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219788360-RZKE96RNICY7PBHFDJIJ%2F2476_DSC06691-01.jpeg&t=Flaunt%20Magazine) * [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219788360-RZKE96RNICY7PBHFDJIJ%2F2476_DSC06691-01.jpeg&text=Flaunt%20Magazine) * [](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219788360-RZKE96RNICY7PBHFDJIJ%2F2476_DSC06691-01.jpeg&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219788360-RZKE96RNICY7PBHFDJIJ%2F2476_DSC06691-01.jpeg&description=Flaunt%20Magazine)  * [](https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791938-4R9TGJDVD6W33R2EY0CV%2F1071_DSC06636-01.jpeg&t=Flaunt%20Magazine) * [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791938-4R9TGJDVD6W33R2EY0CV%2F1071_DSC06636-01.jpeg&text=Flaunt%20Magazine) * [](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791938-4R9TGJDVD6W33R2EY0CV%2F1071_DSC06636-01.jpeg&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791938-4R9TGJDVD6W33R2EY0CV%2F1071_DSC06636-01.jpeg&description=Flaunt%20Magazine)  * [](https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791949-G5RBJA2PU35BPSSFWWGT%2F1099_DSC06852-01.jpeg&t=Flaunt%20Magazine) * [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791949-G5RBJA2PU35BPSSFWWGT%2F1099_DSC06852-01.jpeg&text=Flaunt%20Magazine) * [](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791949-G5RBJA2PU35BPSSFWWGT%2F1099_DSC06852-01.jpeg&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F56c346b607eaa09d9189a870%2F1614219791949-G5RBJA2PU35BPSSFWWGT%2F1099_DSC06852-01.jpeg&description=Flaunt%20Magazine)