The Rare Occasions Deliver Mysterious Video For “You Weren’t Meant to See That” (premiere)

Los Angeles outfit the Rare Occasions offer up the second single from the album Into the Shallows via “You Weren’t Meant to See That”. The stop-motion animation piece, directed by Laurel Cohen, highlights the unspecified “it” that lurks beneath the song’s surface. Just what is it about? It’s hard to tell but what isn’t revealed is arguably more interesting than that which is. With gritty guitar tones and slacker chic vocals (think: Pavement), the song makes its mysterious case in a matter of seconds, hooking the listener into a series of repeated listens. (Or viewings as the case may be.)

The group takes its greatest inspiration from garage rock, putting a dark twist on that sometimes sunny genre, with lyrics that touch on existentialism and self-reflection, themes that fit the enchanting, serrated sonics well.

The band offered this regarding the video itself, “Our friend, Minneapolis-based filmmaker Laurel Cohen, built the set to this video in her apartment and filmed it in one continuous take. The video was shot in reverse, starting from the end scene and moving towards the beginning. This seemed like the perfect backdrop to the song, which touches on how a past event can shape the way we live in the present, and how the present can determine the way we remember our past.”

Viewers can also get a behind-the-camera look at Cohen’s process.