Video: Overcoats, ‘Apathetic Boys’

Haley Bosselman on November 21st, 2020

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To all the non-dudes who have been made to feel ashamed for their failure at being effortlessly cool: This song is for you.

Brooklyn-based alt-pop duo Overcoats (Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell) dropped their video for “Apathetic Boys,” an ode to being over too-cool-for-school indie boys. The song is off “The Fight,” which arrived in March. Over 10 songs, their sophomore LP seeks out hope in the midst of all-consuming anxiety, offering listeners a rallying cry for a particularly difficult year.

The music video accompanies Overcoats’ announcement of “The Fight (Remixed)” due Dec. 11. “Apathetic Boys” gets a rework by fellow New York artist Porches and is now available.

In a note on social media, Overcoats explain how they outgrew the approval of their male peers.“Why is being chill, or even apathetic, better than being emotional or transparent? … We started to get angry about it, and then we started having fun.” With frenetic vocals and melodramatic synths, you can hear just how done they are, singing in the chorus, “Apathetic boys, can you give me more? / Apathetic boys, do you feel anything at all?”

It’s a satisfying diss to all the boys who mock young women for wearing band tees and showing emotion. Three cheers for the snarky, “By the way I’ve heard of Radiohead, I guess they’re OK.” Overcoats further exact their revenge in the self-directed video, which features fellow New York bands (Plastic Picnic, Hypoluxo, Homeschool, Future Generations, Marinara, Wet Leather and Eli Sundae) playing as apathetic boys and performing their song. Not pleased, Elion and Mitchell come in at the end and destroy the instruments.

“Men are the gatekeepers of rock music, and not only men, but apathetic men. Male musicians often act like they don’t care and that makes them cooler — the tattered shirts, the emotionless expressions. When women care, it is deeply uncool,” Overcoats say. “We wanted the video to be a commentary on how these decidedly male expectations permeate the genre.”

||| Watch: The video for “Apathetic Boys”