Lorne Behrman Premieres His Exquisite “Barbara” Music Video

Lorne Behrman would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to “Barbara.” The singer-songwriter’s new single is a portrayal of a charming junkie romance that takes on new meaning paired with its emotional accompanying music video. The clip was directed by and stars the creative team of Dave Tierney and Scarlett Thiele. Tierney is Behrman’s old bandmate from their time together in The Sweet Things. The video was shot guerrilla-style around the streets of New York City. It features the last payphone in Manhattan and has a retro ’80s look and feel.

“Barbara” is the lead single to Behrman’s brand new record, Blue Love. The album was just released on February 9th via Spaghetty Town Records. It’s got a proto-punk style reminiscent of Mink Deville or Tom Verlaine, and its writing was inspired by the classic Al Pacino film Panic In Needle Park. The album is a series of little vignettes inspired by life and living in New York City.

Explaining the album and how “Barbara” relates to it, Behrman comments:

“The album, Blue Love, is about holding two emotions at the same time. Like falling in love while your life is falling apart. There can be beauty and warmth in hard times; you just have to be open to it… or desperate for it (laughs). The song ‘Barbara’ embodies this duality. It’s a love story that poetically comes alive through the acting and directing of Scarlett and Dave. Musically, I was asking the question what happens if you combine the smooth 1970s songs you hear in a grocery store with punk rock. I call it ‘yacht punk.’ You heard it here first!”

When you listen through Blue Love, you can’t help but notice the significant influence post-punk had on the songwriting. The stories on the record recall the street poetics of Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Jim Carroll, and others. Musically, the songs are delivered in the spirit of Television, The Stooges, and again Lou Reed.

Blue Love follows Behrman’s acclaimed When I Hit the Floor EP and debut full-length A Little Midnight. Behrman is unique in that he is a musician who is not afraid to lean on his influences while at the same time etching out his own space. He’s keeping that post-punk spirit very much alive while also presenting a sound and style quite distinctive from anything else you’re currently listening to.

Lorne Behrman ‘Blue Love’ album artwork