Architrave’s ‘The Edge’ Challenges Perspectives

By Nippertown Staff On Sep 11, 2023

Flat-Earthers, beware: the contents of this review may ruffle your feathers. I may also be using a few $3 words, so if you get confused, just ask one of your whatever-brand-of-chan message board mates, or just Google it.

Local synth-pop duo Architrave is releasing their final music video/single “The Edge” from their forthcoming album “Out of My Mind and Into Yours.” This is probably how this article should have started, though vocalist Jennifer Maher Colman would be remiss if I didn’t additionally mention that every song from this album has a corresponding video. But no, seriously, this is only the last release before the September 15th release. They will certainly be releasing the rest of the videos in the near future, so stay tuned. The album is an artistic exercise exploring different viewpoints.

“The Edge” is a song written from a flat-earther’s perspective, a wild take on life, even for an absurdist such as myself. Thankfully, the lyrical content of “The Edge” is obfuscated enough that this glimpse into the absurd can be interpreted in many different ways. On first watch, the uninitiated could easily take this as a statement about the pressures of life or a pleading to take the climate crisis seriously. The song is written from the slant of a flat earth evangelist portrayed in this video by real-life flat-earther (I kid, I kid) and local rock and roller Gary Ziroli. Flat-earthers have a knack for producing alternative facts, and since the song is written from this persuasion, I figured I would do my best to conjure a ‘true believer’ and give you a glimpse into how one would see this video from this mindset.

The video opens with a shot of absurdist juxtaposition, a field filled with PVC globes. I dare you, the reader, to pause the video right off the bat. Hold out a finger horizontally in front of you and line it up with the horizon. They’re both relatively straight, right? Nothing to suggest the big lie that the earth is a sphere; what a ridiculous concept. In the following scenes, the same globes are put into various situations where they are rolling down a hill in an obvious attempt to illustrate the earth’s roundness. Here we find our hero Gary, seated beside Paul Coleman, bravely not believing the round earth lies being preached by Jennifer Maher Colman. To be honest, a good look at Paul proves he, too, is not that convinced, perhaps because Jen holding the globe above her head is accidentally demonstrating one of the weaknesses of the round earth theory. Sure, if you’re above the globe, you could walk around on your feet, but if you’re beneath the globe, are you going to walk around on your head? That does not work just as much, as birds can’t fly upside down. From here, we follow Gary as he gets bullied by a crew of lie-believing sheep, including the likes of Kat Celentano, Joseph Beatty, and Chris Bassett. Eventually, our hero, Gary, figures out a way to prove to the Colemans the truth of the matter. We follow them into the woods and finally get to peer over the edge.

In all seriousness, though, the song and corresponding video are great. An album with an album’s worth of music videos is quite a goal. As evidenced by this and all the videos that have come out so far, Architrave is crushing it. Suppose you want to catch them playing out soon, they are playing El Dorado Bar in Troy, NY, tonight, as well as their coming album release party with House of Harm, hosted by those fine freaks of the Hellseeker crew at No Fun (also in Troy, NY), where they will have Vinyl, CDs, and a super limited run of VHS tapes with the entire collection of music videos.

Coming Dates: 9/11 Show at El Dorado Bar, Troy, NY 9/15 Album Release get it here (https://architrave.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-my-mind-and-into-yours?from=embed) or any other place where you buy music 9/16 Album Release Party at No Fun Troy, NY.

Where to find Architrave online:

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/architraveband/)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/architraveband)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@architraveband)
Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/2ZaVi1NxhSBz6bvWokXUBa?si=BRJjgPRLRjeo2PFjoO9-sA)
Bandcamp (https://architrave.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-my-mind-and-into-yours?from=embed).