“We are not trying to pass judgment on rich kids who grew up in LA,” declares Kisses’ Jesse Kivel of the duo’s 80s-vibing new video for ‘Huddle’, premiered today on Dazed Digital. Taken from their recent album Kids In L.A (Cascine/Splendour), the sepia-toned clip is a witty, charming culmination of John Hughes-era styling – yet with Kids In L.A being partly inspired by Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero, there’s still an underlying darkness.

Dazed Digital: Was the 80s-themed video inspired by the track’s instrumentation?
Kisses: Definitely. While we didn't want the video to be an explicit parody of the 80's, it was important to get a look and feel that fit the song itself. 

DD: Did you want to take the piss out of Ivy League-types?
Kisses: No we’re not – people seem to be missing that with our new album. The lyrics are observations, not a critique. Recently I’ve thought a lot about how everything in life is relative. I really believe that people’s problems in life, whether they seem petty or trite [to us], still affect them in the same way that others with more pressing problems are affected.

DD: So why the champagne, lobster and red Porsche?
Kisses: The material aspects of this video were used not to critique but to create a mood and feel, to put you in a surreal world where excess and wealth are just everyday parts of life. Actually, my bandmate Zinzi's family live up in Maine where lobsters are cheap and we can eat them more often, but we were on a tight budget for this video and after finding out it cost $16 for one lobster we decided to buy only 1 for the video instead of 3.

DD: What’s your favourite teen movie and why? 
Kisses: My Tutor. It got me thinking about a lot of the imagery and ideas we used visually for this record. It’s a ludicrous tale about a hot older tutor lady who is trying to get the main protagonist to pass French. All of the high school kids are trying to lose their virginity and the overt eroticism in this coming of age story, but the actors look so old! It got us thinking about placing people in roles that weren’t age appropriate, so that’s how the idea started of getting Henry (age 10) to play our peer.

DD: Who’s your teen movie crush? 
Kisses: Hmm, probably Rachael Leigh Cook in She's All That.

DD: Which teen movie would you love to soundtrack? 
Kisses: I honestly think most of them have pretty strong soundtracks. The soundtrack on My Tutor is haunting and wonderful. 

Text by Jack Wade