SPRINTS — Descartes

JUL 01 2025 · 12:00

SPRINTS — Descartes (2025) Director: Niamh Bryson Era: Post-Punk Revival II / Irish Guitar Music Wave (2025) - Dublin garage-punk band SPRINTS releasing lead single from sophomore album 'All That Is Over' (Sub Pop / City Slang), amid a surge in critically acclaimed Irish rock music internationally High curatorial value as a confirmed lead-single video from a critically acclaimed Dublin band's sophomore album on Sub Pop and City Slang. The video marks a significant moment in the 2020s Irish punk wave, featuring the work of an emerging Irish director, Niamh Bryson. Its philosophical conceptual grounding, dark visual aesthetic, and rapid-edit performance style make it a strong representative artefact of the era's intersection of intellectual punk ethos and contemporary 4K production values. Context: Released 24 June 2025, 'Descartes' arrives as the lead single of SPRINTS' sophomore album 'All That Is Over', announced on the same day. The video and track emerge from a period of significant personal and professional upheaval for the Dublin four-piece—lineup changes, relentless touring, and a rapidly ascending international profile. Conceptually, the track reframes René Descartes' 'cogito ergo sum' as a punk-feminist statement on creative survival and self-expression, drawing from Rachel Cusk's literary critique of cultural vanity. The video's dark, sepia aesthetic and mansion performance setting extend these themes visually. The band sits at the centre of a celebrated wave of Irish guitar music alongside Fontaines D.C. and The Murder Capital, and 'Descartes' consolidates their standing as one of the most vital acts in contemporary punk. Director notes: Directed and produced the official video for 'Descartes', released 24 June 2025 as the lead single from SPRINTS' sophomore album 'All That Is Over' (Sub Pop / City Slang). The video features the band performing in what has been described as a mansion setting. The visual treatment—dark, sepia-toned, rapid-cut—aligns with the track's philosophical and punk themes. The single was inspired by a line from Rachel Cusk's novel 'Outline', with frontwoman Karla Chubb reframing Descartes' cogito into a statement on creative expression and self-understanding.