Colin Cowan & the Elastic Stars – “Owing, Knowing All” (video)

Vancouver’s Colin Cowan has earned himself a respectful reputation on the back of his work with the likes of Dan Mangan, Dada Plan, and Woodpigeon, but his solo work is quickly proving its worth among them in the upper echelons of the Canadian indie scene. Spring Myths is the third installment in Cowan’s seasonal album tetralogy, and it’s both his most brilliant and solitary effort. Cowan played most of it himself, recorded by Dada Plan bandmate Malcolm Biddle directly onto 8-track tape with no assistance from computers. Its weirdly charming psych-pop forms channel something deep and classic, a dwindling memory of how things used to be when artists sought to break free of major labels and tap directly into their creative spirit for all to enjoy.

The latest in a series of videos for the album, produced by Matt Krysko, “Owing, Knowing All” features Cowan symmetrically doubled in VHS saturation with what looks like a plasma globe and old oscilloscope. Caste in a purplish hue, shadows of his lysergic movements are shredded in sideways greens while he mouths the words to his reverberant downtempo track, with its warped, echo-laden bass, shimmering acoustic guitar, sleepy electric jangle, and sluggish drums. The goofy grin on his face throughout the video speaks to the burned-out bliss of the music, the kind of stuff you could see John Lennon making if he was still around and determined to go lo-fi psych.