Into the narrows of 45th parallel winter mornings and early sunsets, Portland two piece Wonderly just dropped a little joy—in the form of a music video for their cover of Billie Eilish's "Getting Older."
A track from their album of acoustic covers, Appropriate 'til Death, Wonderly's adaption and video for "Getting Older" feel like ironic reversals of Eilish's own humor—since she released the song about "aging well" at just 19 years old. Lyrics like "things I once enjoyed/ just keep me employed now" actually make more sense coming from the falsetto harmonies of seasoned musicians Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk. The longtime collaborators are far better known for writing the theme of New York Times' Daily podcast than their seven years of collaboration or decades of respective music projects.
With the new video, released Monday, Wonderly twists the track's meaning once more, shooting visuals for the lonely song in a room full of their friends and loved ones roller skating, skateboarding, and otherwise frolicking on the wood floors of Polaris Hall (Brunberg co-owns the venue, along with Revolution Hall and Mississippi Studios).
"We all feel alone sometimes when we are surrounded, even if it’s family," Brunberg told the Mercury, when asked about the contrast. "We purposely stuck ourselves off in the corner, and barely appear in the video, because we wanted to feature the beautiful hubbub and chaos that is ongoing. It’s not that the narrator in the song is unreliable, it’s that, even in the song, there are tons of people playing roles, but the narrator still feels isolated and alone."
The presence of accomplished local actor Vana O'Brien jumped out to us immediately—earlier this year we huddled around a table with her at Shaking the Tree. Brunberg explained that she was once his therapist. "She has an amazing sense of realism and empathy. All of the people in the video mean a lot to me and the video's director James Westby: his daughter, my daughters, my old housemate and mentee Shelbee Smith, Lisa Lipton, a musician with whom I collaborate frequently and co-own Mendelssohns [the classical music bar neighbor to Mississippi Studios]."
As to why Eilish's song, co-written with her brother Finneas O'Connell, ended up on the group's varied album of covers where songs range from David Bowie's "Life on Mars" to Supertramp's "Breakfast in America," Brunberg and Landsverk are simply huge fans.
"Billie and Finneas are a singular songwriting team," Landsverk explained. "Their writing and production create a space that compels the listener to lean in. It's such a refreshing thing these days, when it feels like everything else is shouting for attention."
Landsverk described the musicality of "Getting Older": "It’s at once a compact and sprawling piece—the constant harmonic winding against the simple, stepwise melody provide a great vehicle for the narrator to process their thoughts on heavy subject matter. The lyrics mull and tease out the different perspectives and trains of thought until they come together for the soaring chorus punchline: 'It’s so weird.'"