The Well is a six-piece group of brothers and cousins that hails from Bergen, Norway. The band’s latest tune, “Separate Ways”, begins in a style reminiscent of a band whose music would fit quite well in Bergen’s chilly environs: the xx. But rather than go for the minimalist ethereal route of that UK duo, The Well takes the clean guitar lines in the opening and blows them up in an anthemic, endearing chorus. The song is equal parts triumphant and melancholy in its descriptions of two people going their “separate ways”.
“Separate Ways”, which premiered in September, now has a video to accompany it. The video intersperses footage of the band playing the song with a silhouette motif somewhat reminiscent of the famous Apple iPod commercials.
“We were trying to make a video that expressed both the band and the story behind the song”, guitarist Stan Naamdal tells PopMatters.
Keyboard player Olav Vandik took something slightly different from the experience: “We never realized how many hours it takes to make a four-minute film.”