Bear Hands Confront Neuroses In ‘Agora’ Video

Today, Brooklyn foursome Bear Hands debuted their video for ‘Agora,’ which features a bearded dragon named Smaug, a door with multiple bolts and their anxious-looking frontman Dylan Rau. As you might expect, the clip, directed by guitarist Ted Feldman, delves into the fear of crowded spaces -- a phobia Rau himself wrestles with.

‘Agora,’ the second single from Bear Hands’ upcoming sophomore album, ‘Distraction,’ balances Rau’s jerky-cool vocals with powerful harmonies, evoking the kinds of neuroses heard in the song’s themes and seen in the new clip.

“I tried to bite the right filmmakers in showing Dylan experiencing the drudgery of a solitary existence,” Feldman said. “I had wanted to include an iguana as tribute to Herzog’s ‘Bad Lieutenant,’ but during our search we found a sweet bearded dragon named Smaug who ended up in the video instead.”

‘Distraction,’ which follows the band’s 2010 debut, ‘Burning Bush Supper Club,’ arrives Feb. 18 via Cantora.