Premiere: Pennan Brae Unleashes His Passion on “Passing Fad”

Vancouver singer-songwriter Pennan Brae unveils the lyric video for “Passing Fad,” from his just-released eighth album, Lit, a 10-track collection of ‘70s and ‘80s-flavored rock.

Lyrically, “Passing Fad” narrates the spell-binding thrill of wild craving for another person, the overwhelming, aching desire to be with them, even though their cool aplomb leaves you discombobulated, serving only to intensify your need.

The video, directed by visual maestro Rob Fitzgerald, transports viewers back to the heady epoch of the ‘70s and ‘80s, an era defined by unrestrained self-indulgence through mass consumption, a time when the prevalent mantra was “greed is good.”

Brimming with rapidly flashing clips from old commercials scrolling across the screen of one of those heavy, fat portable televisions everyone had, the images mirror the same surfeit of longing expressed in the lyrics. Even though it’s a lyric video, the visuals assume primacy and provide a trippy, nostalgic return to a less complicated moment in time when happiness was interpreted as owning stuff.

Recorded at Blue Light Studio in Vancouver, Canada, and produced by Kaj Falch-Nielsen, Lit follows on the heels of Pennan’s 2020 album, 2 Below 0, and highlights the talents of Edward Whelan (drums), Kaj Falch-Nielsen (bass), Allison Jenkins (backing vocals), and Pennan Brae (guitars, vocals).

Opening on luminous, deliciously strident guitars, “Passing Fad” rides a thrumming, finessed rhythm comprising a hefty bassline and taut, crunching drums. Gleaming retro washes of color rife with glossy textures infuse the tune with infectious electrifying energy.

Pennan’s voice, inflected with smooth, breathless tones, injects the lyrics with profound passion as he illustrates his irrepressible thirst for the object of his devotion.

“Lord how I want you / Need you so bad / How you’re flaunting / And tease me so mad / Now it is daunting / It’s no passing fad / How you’re haunting / And lingering sad.”

Simultaneously addictive and tantalizingly alluring, “Passing Fad” dishes out glistening waves of compelling retro-laced music. “Passing Fad” worms its way into your head and won’t let go.

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