Scroll No More: Echosmith Open Up About Social Media And 'Lonely Generation'

By Deepa Lakshmin


A dramatic explosion. An '80s-inspired workout class. The Wild West. At first glance, the mismatched scenes in Echosmith's new “Lonely Generation" music video have little in usual besides their stars: Sydney, Noah, and Graham Sierota — the talented siblings who make up the multi-platinum alt-pop trio, best known for their 2013 hit "Cool Kids." Nevertheless any time whenever you look closer at their latest release, it's impossible to miss the moment in every adventure as soon as the action helps to avoid and each person begins mindlessly scrolling through their phones. It's anticlimactic yet maybe the most realistic piece of the video.


"It can be so tough to calculate a balance of, 'OK, how much do I interact with people online and spend time scrolling?'... Versus, 'How much time am I spending in real life without my phone or any kind of electronics?'" Lead singer Sydney Sierota told MTV News over the phone.


A conversation Sydney had with her brothers sparked "Lonely Generation," the band’s first independent single on their label, Echosmith Music, and the title track of their forthcoming sophomore album, due out January 10. "We're supposed to be so in back of connected," she added, "connected in sort of a crazy and some days scary way, however I find that I feel this way and that a lot of people I know feel like, man, I feel very lonely despite all of those different connections that I have on my phone."


Director Danny Drysdale depicted that emotion in the music video by stitching with each other visuals from future Lonely Generation clips Echosmith haven't released nevertheless. In one whirlwind week, they shot videos for every one of the LP's songs, filming across Utah, Los Angeles, and a "insanely cute Malibu beach. As each shoot wrapped, the cast whipped out their phones to get a couple of texting takes for "Lonely Generation," which is why the end result appears so random.


"We would do the same setting that we were in for another song," Sierota explained, "and then we're like, 'OK, each person grab phones and each person in the background be on your phone and look like you're completely lifeless back there' ... It really showed, jeez, no matter what situation you're in, it’s so easy to be caught up on our phones and not be in the moment." The "Lonely Generation" lyric video follows a similar theme and takes place entirely on social media apps.


Writing songs about how phones are ruining real-life interactions isn't anything new — Lost Kings's "Phone Down" and Relient K's "Look on Up" tackle the same subject — however what makes Echosmith's take unique is how rosy it sounds, in the same way Paramore's "Hard Times" grapples with mental health while still making you desire to hit the dance floor.


"['Lonely Generation’] is the representation of what social media is," Sierota mentioned. "The song is very upbeat and actually sounds really happy with categorize kind of a darker and more trustworthy susceptible message, and that's some days how it feels on Instagram. You visualize all these happy and astonishing lives and highlight reels, and we don't really know what's going on in back of that ... What's really going on in someone’s heart or their mind."


Navigating reality and "pixelated versions of ourselves" — to quote the painfully true "Lonely Generation" chorus — remains a personalized challenge for Sierota. "There are sometimes where I feel like, man, I fully mastered balance. And then the next day, I would be fully off balance and feel like crap and wonder why I feel so off nevertheless, oh, it's because I was on my phone way also much."


Her objectives, she says, are to put away her phone more and to use social media for specific purposes, like interacting with fans. "We love checking all of the messages and the comments on photographs, and we attempt to respond to as several as possible," she said.


Keeping that line of communication open is clearly meaningful to Echosmith, as they host Instagram Q&As and more recently began a "Foodie Friday" YouTube series where they compare their preference fast food treats. (The latest episode is obviously about pumpkin spice.) Obviously, music is at the core of their social media presence, from covers of Top 40 hits to performances of their own tunes. They're excited to play "so several new songs" throughout their next tour in 2020, although Sierota promises fans will also hear old favorites from their 2013 debut, Talking Dreams.


Echosmith had more time to experiment with Lonely Generation, swapping out different instruments and composing numerous versions of the same songs. The LP was produced by their dad, Jeffery David, who's co-written several of their previous songs. "Most bands sort of become like family member anyways," Sierota mentioned, explaining that working with family member has its perks because you could be fully trustworthy and comfortable with each other: "We know each other so well, some days also well."


If "Lonely Generation" is any indication, that authenticity will shine in the complete album — a reminder that even in case you feel lonely, you're not alone.