Watch: Vertical Scratchers – “Kingdom Come”

If you recall, just last week in our review of Vertical Scratchers’ debut, Daughter of Everything, we made note of guitarist John Schmersal’s desire for simplicity and spontaneity with this new venture of his, to the point of theoretically being able to just “show up” anywhere and be able to play their songs.

Well, in the video for the Scratchers’ latest single, it appears Schmersal and drummer Christian Beaulieu do just that, pounding away at “Kingdom Come” on the beach. Clocking in at just around the two minute mark, “Kingdom Come” is a prime example of the duo’s giddy, frantic alt-rock sound, foot squarely on the accelerator from the get-go with Schmersal cramming more words into his two minutes than most others do in twice the time.

In the video, we are also treated to a clever and novel camera view of Schmersal’s strumming from inside the guitar looking out. It gives credence to Schmersal’s allusion to the origin of the duo’s name, that strumming guitar is, in essence, “vertical scratching”.

Vertical Scratchers’ Daughter of Everything is out now on Merge Records.