haley-blais-seventeen-premiere

Photo: Rachel Buckowski

Haley Blais Tours Bucolic Self-Bloomings on “Seventeen” Video (premiere)

The video for the last track on Haley Blais' Let Yourself Go EP is a welcoming DIY mixture of life-affirming home movie and sentimental songwriting.

Like many musical newcomers, Canadian artist Haley Blais‘ initial online following arose from her relatable singer/songwriter YouTube channel. In 2016, she decided to pursue an official solo career (with a folk vibe), leading to a debut EP—Late Bloomer—and an efficacious first tour. Never content to settle for safe, she’s branched out into the realm of indie pop for her follow-up collection, Let Yourself Go, which came out earlier this year. However, as the video for “Seventeen” (the closing entry of the five-song sequence) shows, her rustic roots remain.

Blais notes that the piece “is an homage to [her] painfully average adolescence”, adding: “Everyone goes through different phases growing up, trying to figure themselves out, and mine could be categorized as ‘boring’. I was lazy and boring, with an awful taste in music. Now I’m in a band with my friends touring the country playing music I love as a job. That’s the opposite of boring to me. This video encapsulates how I’m exactly where I’ve always wanted to be.

As you’d expect, then, the visuals and music are simultaneously life-affirming and sentimental. Featuring clips of her band on tour, the video highlights how much of a fun and familial vibe they have while on the road; of course, the footage of them actually playing reveals an equally dedicated, humble, and professional unit. Best of all, it captures the spirit of youthful exuberance to coincide with the colorful and breezy Cranberries-meets-Americana vibe of the track itself.

See the clip for yourself below and then check out the rest of Let Yourself Go.

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