Video Premiere: The Pinstripes Explore Identity on the Pensive "First Tattoo"

Coming off their newly released debut EP Fish on Land, The Pinstripes have shared with us the music video to lead single "First Tattoo," a perfect snapshot into the Melbourne trio's playfully delivered jangle pop. We also caught up with the trio to discuss the making of the new clip and the debut EP.

The newly formed Melbourne trio The Pinstripes craft incredibly catchy and breezy jangle pop mangled with a wide-eyed innocence. Back in March, the trio comprised of vocalist and guitarist Hettie Zygier, bassist Isabella Persano and drummer Sunny Brearley, released their highly anticipated debut EP Fish on Land through Critter Records (Easy Browns, Metdog, Tapdog). The 5-track EP is filled with tight hooks dribbled with clever and well-defined narrative structures of coming of age tales that leave listeners wanting more.

Today the group released their first music video for lead single "Tattoo," an endearingly ramshackle earworm that brims with personality and freedom. It was also the first track the trio wrote together. To dig more into the new clip, we caught up with the trio who takes us behind the scenes while also discussing the recording of their debut EP.

Paperface Zine: How did you three meet and form The Pinstripes?

The Pinstripes: We (Hettie and Bella) had done school choir together for years, but it was a few years after school and we both really missed singing together and doing music

together. We were both learning guitar as was 92% of the population during lockdowns. We decided, what the hell, let's start a rock band! We knew Sunny could rock on the drums so we got her on board. Then, just like that, The Pinstripes were born.

Paperface Zine: You released your debut EP Fish on Land through Critter Records back in March. What were the sessions like and what are some reflections you have about it? 

The Pinstripes: We recorded Fish on land with the legendary Zak Brown who also mixed it while our friend Scott Urwin did the mastering. We are so grateful to have met Zak in the right place, at the right time. We got it all done over a few days and wanted a pretty dry sound so it was an easy and great first go for us. Our reflection of the final product is that it set the standard high. For the future when we have the time, it will be awesome to play around with different sounds in the studio. We did get a bit more play time with the songs we just recorded, but maybe next time, we can experiment even more!

Paperface Zine: Tell me a bit about this new music video you have your debut single "First Tattoo." How did it come about and what was it like working with Co-Directors Maxine Zanoni and Lela Turner and Director of Photographer Louis Walter? Can we also expect more videos down the road? 

The Pinstripes: It was amazing! Maxine and Lela are close friends of ours, and it was a collaboration we had spoken about for a little while. The entire process and experienced team were amazing, and it was nothing but a good time on set. We think that's why the energy is so high in the music video, we really were laughing and dancing pretty much the whole day anyway. It was great to collaborate because we trusted them and their process the whole way through and they really showed up and made a special video for us. We cannot wait to shoot more with Maxine Zanoni, Lela Turner and Louis Walter in the future.

Paperface Zine: What did you envision for the debut single when initially composing it? Any themes you explore lyrically?

The Pinstripes: "First Tattoo" is the first song I (Hettie) wrote. I was on a tram on the way to Bella's house, so naturally I felt bored and wanted to see what I could come up with. I had absolutely no expectation or imagined idea for what I wanted it to sound like. The idea for the song was inspired by my first tattoo (dur) that I had gotten the day before. The idea of tattoos to me feels like a good symbol for adulthood. Purity has been corrupted which is another way of saying I felt like I had left childhood and entered adulthood. Then we had our first full band rehearsal, Sunny made up a drum beat and after a bit of workshopping and Bella learning the bass, we wrote our first song. I guess the theme came naturally with how it was written but I'd say it's a coming of age tale which explores identity. The music video also does a beautiful job of reflecting this, but ultimately it was something fun and light-hearted and the

goal was to write a song that we could perform.

Paperface Zine: What has it been like playing these shows live, especially coming out of various lockdowns the past couple of years?

The Pinstripes: It has been unbelievably fun and rewarding to experience the gig scene as a band. Three of our "first shows" got cancelled because of lockdowns and so there was so much build up for when we did finally play a live show, but it was unreal when we did. We are still new to playing gigs, so the novelty is far from wearing off. It's also been cool being a femme identifying band in a scene that has been so male dominated. It's empowering to be on stage and performing original songs; we are having the best time.

Paperface Zine: What else can fans expect from The Pinstripes in 2022? Is this new EP leading to a larger project that'll come out soon?

The Pinstripes: Well, Hettie and Sunny are both travelling this year and we aren't sure when they're going to return so live shows are off the cards for a little while. However, before take-off, we recorded some songs with the fantastic Fabian Hunter which was another delightful experience. We are yet to release them, but they are in the works and will be released soon. We are already itching to play live shows and to make more music videos, Alas, until then, buy our merch and watch this space for more music!

Fish on Land is out now through Critter Records.

Stream and purchase the new EP below.