On Valentine’s Day 2020, Hotel Mira gave their fans Perfectionism, the first album under this moniker. Eighteen months later, the love that the band – Charlie Kerr, Mike Noble, Clark Grieve, and Cole George – has for its fans is still going strong, but the bloom is off the Perfectionism rose, and it’s time for the next chapter. Enter “The Eyes On You,” the newest video from Hotel Mira, premiering here on HollywoodLife. At the start of the visual, frontman Charlie, decked in a pink suit, is feeling it while onstage. After performing seemingly to an empty arena, Charlie heads out to the street, continuing the performance.
Though no one is watching, the eyes are on him as he sings — “And the world is cruel / Put your heart away, leave it somewhere safe (You never knew) / Then lighten up” – until he meets up with the rest of the band down by the water’s edge. With shovels and a mini coffin ready, the group quickly buries Charlie’s jacket, which made appearances in prior videos like “This Could Be It For Me.” This move, as Kerr tells HollywoodLife, marks a defining shift for Hotel Mira.
“As a song, ‘The Eyes On You’ is a bit of a bait and switch,” says Kerr. “It is supposed to sound like a love song at first listen, but the more you pay attention to the words, you’ll find it is actually a song about a relationship that is deteriorating. The video is a much more abstract idea. It’s much more about feeling the pressure of an audience and the pressure to perform. We also saw it as a good opportunity to start finding a symbolic way to end the Perfectionism era — by burying the pink suit jacket.”
It’s a brilliant artistic move by a band that has undergone many artistic deaths and rebirths. The Vancouver alternative rockers have been known by a handful of different names – The Beauties, JPNSGRLS—before shifting to Hotel Mira in the late 2010s. The new iteration has resonated with fans, thanks to their album, Perfectionism. Boasting eleven tracks of alt-rock goodness (that are as charming as they are energetic), Perfectionism was a perfect first impression to new friends and a wonderful way for them to reacquaint with longtime followers. As for what’s next for Hotel Mira? Who can tell? But know that all eyes will be on them to see what excitement they bring to the rock landscape.