By DONNA BALANCIA
A starry-eyed runaway, a 1950s-style mom in a trailer park, and a low-budget lover boy on a motorcycle. No wonder the creators of this short film call themselves SadGirl. But with the Sam Cooke-style bluesy track “Chlorine” playing in the background, not all hope is lost.
SadGirl, a favorite LA trio actually comprised of no girls at all, proves they’re full of interesting idiosyncrasies with “Chlorine,” based on a track off the band’s upcoming album, Water.
“Chlorine” is inspired, as SadGirl says, by the music of Otis Redding and the film directorial approach of John Waters. The song has a needle-to-vinyl rough, saxxy feel and is “Dock of the Bay”- ready. The short film, which features Parker Bowling, underscores the urgent need to escape life in the land of nowheresville.
Shot on 16-mm film, set in and around a trailer park, the story follows Chlorine as she skips town with her dirt bike-riding boyfriend, Misha Lindes, to leave behind her glammed-up mother in the trailer park.
But as her mother tries to bring her home, Chlorine and Misha go on a reckless crime spree, ultimately leaving Chlorine with a moral dilemma.
SadGirl – Chlorine
“Chlorine” is a lot like Juliette Lewis and Woody Harrelson in the harrowing Oliver Stone-directed and Quentin Tarantino-scripted 1994 flick “Natural Born Killers,” but without the over-the-top violence and Harrelson’s goofiness.
Instead, we get model-caliber handsome Lindes and the vulnerable Bowling, who’s about to become a household name with her star turn in Tarantino’s upcoming feature “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” out July 26.
“Chlorine” is one of several compelling tunes off SadGirl’s upcoming album, Water, due out June 14. It’s a collection of upbeat pop songs with a decidedly throwback quality.
“Chlorine” plays on a range of emotions, mainly love and the feeling that reckless abandon can’t be pushed too far, except when things get too hot to handle.
The band said Water came together out of a series of recording sessions from the last two years using a variety of tape machines and a variety of environments—from living rooms to studios. As 1970s style sees a resurgence, SadGirl’s work adds fluidity to a genre that otherwise might otherwise be dried up. The band’s record release show is set for July 11 at Teragram Ballroom.