Brian Wilson is best known for his work in the Beach Boys, where he wrote, arranged, and sang on some of prettiest pop records of the ’60s. But on “Any Emotions,” a new song from the band Mini Mansions, he’s content to take a more relaxed role, just providing backing vocals.
And Wilson isn’t the only star involved in “Any Emotions:” the video features the actor Colin Hanks (yes, Tom’s son) of Fargo. Watch below.
Mini Mansions is a trio made up of Zach Dawes, Tyler Parkford and Michael Shuman (who also plays bass in the band Queens of the Stone Age). Their self-titled debut came out in 2010, and they are currently working on the follow-up, The Great Pretenders, due 3/24. “Any Emotions” is appealing and vaguely funky, existing halfway between the clean studio pop that was an L.A. specialty in the ’70s and the carefully harmonized indie rock of bands like Grizzly Bear.
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How do you get an icon like Wilson on a track? Dawes was contributing to Wilson’s next solo album when the ’60s legend caught wind of “Any Emotions” and wanted to lend a hand.
The Hanks connection was even more random. “Due to the straightforward nature of [the video], it wasn’t about getting somebody famous as much as it was getting someone great,” Dawes told Rolling Stone. “[Hanks] had caught our set opening for the Arctic Monkeys last year,” the bassist continues, “and everybody agreed he would be perfect.”
It’s a win for Hanks, too — the music video handily doubles as an audition tape for any directors wondering about the extent of his facial expressiveness.