Today, Tune-Yards is premiering a new video for “Real Thing” from new album ‘Nikki Nack’ via their First Watch series. Merrill Garbus says the video – directed by filmmaker Tom Jobbins – frames “the sometimes heavy lyrics of “Real Thing” in a Charlie Chaplin-like, humorous idea of me being a box of body parts in a factory.”

Director Tom Jobbins: Hearing the song made me think of bright patterns and dancing hands! With these initial thoughts in my mind and the song on repeat I envisaged a madcap story about three plastic sisters and an all-singing all-dancing Merrill. It’s a brash and brilliant song and I wanted to match that with the visuals. Merging animation and live action allowed us to create different spaces and bring in lots of visual treats. Merrill was great from beginning to end. Her advice was always to go weirder and wilder, and I think her brilliant performance shows just that.

Merrill Garbus: “I believe Real Thing was the one song I didn’t want to make a video for. It has too many images of its own in the lyrics, and could mean so many different things for different listeners…I love leaving room for audiences to paint their own mental pictures. What changed my mind is wanting so much for this particular song to be heard by more people. We chose Tom Jobbins’ idea because it framed the sometimes heavy lyrics in a Charlie Chaplin-like, humorous idea of me being a box of body parts in a factory. A simple and light-hearted backdrop for some complex and weighty ideas.”

Tune-Yards has also confirmed a string of December dates including 4 intimate nights at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on Dec 4^th Wiltern Theatre on Dec 10th.

Tune-Yards December Dates:

Dec 4 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Cibo Matto and Beep!)

Dec 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Cibo Matto and Beep!)

Dec 6 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Cibo Matto and Beep!)

Dec 7 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Cibo Matto and Beep!)

Dec 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern (w/ Cibo Matto)

Dec 11 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre (w/ Cibo Matto)

Dec 12 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre (w/ Cibo Matto)

Dec 13 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre (w/ Cibo Matto)