Feeling Free with pushflowers and “Peak” [Music Video Premiere]
“To be with friends, listening to music, all feeling free and thankful to be sitting under the moon together can be hard to express now. I definitely try to reflect like that more often and remind myself to be present and take in how lucky I am,” shared Justine DeFeo of pushflowers, an undersung indie pop staple of the Boston, MA area with extra extra emphasis on the “pop” part. Wormbrain chatted with the group about their new music video “Peak” premiering today on W.W and the undeniably good sunny day vibes it radiates. “Needless to say, I’m so ready for the music video to be released!”
“I feel nostalgic for it,” DeFeo told Wormbrain. “The song was released last summer, but it was written in the summer of 2020, which feels so far away from me now. I wrote it about being at a bonfire on the beach with friends in the middle of the night. It was the first time I was with a group of people outside of my ‘bubble’ during the height of the pandemic. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m still very into ‘Peak,’ which hasn’t always been the case years after I’ve written a song.”
pushflowers are sharing their brand new music video for “Peak” today via Wormbrain World:
“It can be difficult for us as a D.I.Y. band to release songs into the world and have them be heard and loved the way we dream they will,” she shared with Wormbrain, expanding on this thought. “Also, I think it makes sense to push for another boost of attention for the single by releasing a video for it. Filming music videos also pushes us creatively. We challenge ourselves to not only write our songs, but come up with the ideas for the visuals and find someone to help us execute what we want. It takes a lot of effort, but shows how passionate we are about our music.”
Photo by Ryan Alfonso.
While true pushflowers devotees have had a year with “Peak” so far, the unbelievably estival video shines spotlight back on the single anew, stoking the bonfire for existing fans and beckoning new ones to join the party. The “new music” ecosystem can roll on in the blink of an eye, but the band intends to show that there is reason to call back on a past single again. Good music has no expiration date, especially for new listeners and when bumped up in the thread alongside a visual accompaniment that humanizes the polished rockstars like this.
“We’ve always thought that showing ourselves to our audience is important. The hope is that they pick up a sense of our personalities and form more of a connection to our songs.”
“Setting the scene was super important while writing the song. I want people to feel like they’re sitting on the beach with me each time they listen. We filmed the beach scenes at Winthrop Beach where a couple of us spent time this past summer. The arcade and theme park shots are from Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH.”
Giving the W.W readers a peek into the “Peak” production, Justine DeFeo offered, “We were all very serious about filming in only one day, but it was very stress free and we laughed a lot. We only needed to pay attention to filming all of the day shots on the beach before the sun went down.”
“It was pretty funny rolling up to the beach with all of our gear and filming in front of a bunch of strangers who didn’t know what we were doing. Some of them definitely thought we were famous or something. We also almost brought Josh’s entire drum kit on the beach but thought it was too extra.”
Wormbrain was also told that the band is currently recording an album and are looking forward to stepping onto the stage again more often!
DeFeo said, “The songs we’ve been working on really align with the music we’re passionate about and we’ve never had so much fun while in the studio. Brad from Big Nice Studio in Rhode Island has been such an amazing addition to our team and has helped shape our songs into how we envisioned them to sound and more. Hopefully, we’ll release them this year. We’re also ready to play more shows, so hopefully we can get back into the swing of that soon.”
Oh, and if you’ve read this far and had been wondering… yes, the band name is pushflowers — one word, all lowercase! “We never say anything to people who capitalize or separate our band name because we’re too sweet,” they joked. “We’ll usually comment on it later to each other and laugh about it. There are definitely more important things to worry about and remember in life, but we love to see when people pick up on our artistic choices.”
“It can be difficult for us as a D.I.Y. band to release songs into the world and have them be heard and loved the way we dream they will.”
Wormbrain World asked the members of pushflowers about what essential items and activities they’ll be doing at their favorite beaches and theme parks, and they told us:
Justine DeFeo: Herring Cove in Provincetown, MA is my favorite beach. This is also the beach I’m referencing in “Peak.” Whenever I’m there, I’m with my friend Jodi and my partner Sam in the middle of an unforgettable trip. I also love to ride on the bike path in P-town and ending up at Herring Cove is the icing on the cake. The ride is so beautiful, especially during sunset. My top 5 things that I would need to bring for a perfect beach day are a bluetooth speaker, beach towel, a cooler full of seltzer, sunscreen and Jodi’s dog Pico. My favorite theme park is Waldameer Park and Water World in Erie, PA. I have only been to this park once back in 2016 but I’m going to say it’s my favorite because I was with Rocío, Ryan and Sam and we had a 10/10 day. We stopped at the park on a whim when driving back from a trip to Chicago. The four of us went to the water park and it was Rocío’s first time riding down a waterslide. Being able to see Rocío’s face after she got off the slide was such a pure and special moment. We felt like little kids the entire time we were there, so Waldameer holds a special place in my heart. If I went to Waldameer today and was brave enough to hit up the water park I’d check out the waterslides, the “Endless River,” and the log flume.
Rocío Del Mar Alfonso: Puerto Rican beaches are a huge part of me, so my absolute favorite beach in the world is Luquillo Beach. That was the beach my family would go to regularly when I was a kid and I was lucky enough to be there with all of our friends for our wedding trip, so nothing will beat that. Five necessities: ham and cheese sandwiches, wine, medallitas, ice, and a beach chair. For theme parks, it has to be Canobie Lake Park, where we filmed the vid. It’s been a big tradition in our friend group to go there for our friend Britt’s birthday and she was nice enough to let us film during her party this past summer. When we go there, the log flume is a must, as is the Haunted Mine and the Pirate Ship. We tried filming in the Haunted Mine but the footage was way too spooky.
Ryan Alfonso: - My favorite beach is Buyé in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Top 2 most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. Rocío and I went there during our honeymoon and had the best time. People were just partying and blasting Bad Bunny on the beach, vibes were immaculate. 5 things that I need on the beach: polish horseshoes, corn hole, a football, drinks, beach chair. Damn I sound like a bro. I can’t chill on the beach though, I’m trying to swim in the ocean and play games. My favorite theme park is also Canobie Lake park in Salem, NH. Not the best theme park by any means, but it’s nostalgic. Rides like the cork screw, Turkish twist, Boston tea party and cannonball are just iconic. They have Dippin’ Dots, the ice cream of the future. Not to mention the people watching there is next level. If you know, you know.
Josh London could not be reached for comment.
Photo courtesy of the band.
W.W: What is Wormbrain?
JD: Wormbrain is a music blog that bands want to be featured on. It feels exclusive because it’s mysterious, but Wormbrain is really chill and accepting. We <3 Wormbrain.
W.W: Thank you for sharing with Wormbrain.
pushflowers’ new music video and the single “Peak” are out now everywhere, self-released by the band.
