Tiberius b's backstory is one filled with chance and fortuity, with a guitar randomly handed to them in a remote Welsh village during quarantine providing the inspiration for 2021 EP Stains. That project arrived via Mark Ronson's label Zelig and marked Tiberius, a.k.a. Frank Belcourt, as an introspective writer of coming of age queer anthems, a place where small thoughts become big feelings with hooks to match.
Today Tiberius announces new EP DIN, out on June 30, and shares lead single "Jetski." The track is an urgent and driving indie-pop tune built around springy drums and their mournful voice. The song deals with the lifespan of meeting someone at a party, from feeling an instant connection to the fallout from the chaos that ensues. Tiberius throws in surreal lyrical touches ("You're a packet of salt and I'm a jetski") that leap off the page while the energy continues to point toward an unsatisfactory ending. This is matched by a video that shows them acting out the journey while playing live. It's a great performance, from writhing on a sofa in ecstasy to a sudden, messy, change in direction with the arrival of a flock of pigeons.
Speaking via email, video director Aidan Zamiri said, “We wanted to make the video for 'Jetski' reflect the intensity and energy of a Tiberius b live show. Frank truly gives us everything in their performance and it makes you fall in love with them as an artist. Narratively, it was fun to explore the naughtiness of unleashing chaos, mess, bird shit and love into your otherwise clean and contained existence. In the end we made something that was equal parts horny and unhinged.”
Tiberius, meanwhile, adds:“'Jetski' needed to be grotesque and hot and I think we pulled it off. It’s about ordinary magic, all my songs are in a way, and what better exemplifies that idea than a pigeon?”