Larry Llodra wrote UVH’s Last Fruit EP in a post-college, pre-employment rut – business degree in back pocket, mopping up chicken blood from the cold room of a grocery store’s meat department. No surprise it’s an anxious work, frustrated and escapist.
Llodra’s lost in a daydream on “Innervisions,” a track that sounds exactly like Elvis Costello backed by Sonic Youth. Who hasn’t been there, thinking of one’s ideal self as you go through the motions of mundane work? Last Fruit is the first proper release for the Austin-raised singer and guitarist, who previously worked under a variety of aliases including Twin Bitches.
This one, UVH, launches with an acronym-looking moniker that stands for nothing in particular. The group comes to our attention through GTZ Records, an Austin-based label operated by Stiletto Feels frontman Geoff Earl (also the bassist in UVH) and Sam “Shmu” Chown, drummer/vocalist in Zorch. GTZ also put out one of my favorite albums of 2016 in Gloves INTL’s self-titled sophomore LP.
Today, we premiere the video for UVH’s “Innervisions,” which follows a young woman burning foot rubber through the pastoral landscapes of Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington. The clip was shot and directed by Travis Barron, UVH’s former bassist who quit the band to hike from Mexico to Canada, where he became interested in filming nature scenes.
“I have no idea who the woman is,” admits Llodra, noting how close the video matches the song’s lyrical intent. “I don’t know her name or anything about her to be honest, but she’s running and running’s a real stressful, exhaustive thing. At the end, she reaches the payoff: this blissful, peaceful place.
“The concept is that it’s not a real place, but in her mind, that’s where she’s trying to get to.”
UVH “Innervision” from Travis Barron on Vimeo.
This article appears in November 18 • 2016.