There are music videos that sit on the surface, and then there are music videos that seep under your skin and stay with you. ‘see and sleep’ is the latest single from the alternative folk duo Barnburner is the latter. This is a raw meditation on longing, emptiness, and the deep ache of wanting to be seen by someone slipping away from you.

Today, we premiere the offical video, directed by Barnburner’s own Pippa Molony, ahead of it’s release on Barnburner’s YouTube this Thursday, September 11 at 15:00. The video anchors itself around a single image: the bed. A place of intimacy, rest, and vulnerability, this video also reminds us that the bed can also easily become a stark reminder of absence.

Speaking about this, director and musician Pippa Molony says, “I was trying to communicate the essence of the song: the need to see and be seen by the one you love (to be really understood by them) and the need to sleep beside that person, if only just to feel the warmth of another body next to you. Despite being a place of rest, the bed becomes a symbol of the protagonist’s profound emptiness and the absence of the person she restlessly longs for. It is her place of intimacy and vulnerability, and its emptiness underscores the central theme of the song; longing and loss.”

Whether filled with restless bodies or left hollow in silence, every shot circles back to the closeness lost. The bed image becomes a paradox. The idea of someone being physically so near but emotionally far away. The song also mirrors this idea in the confessional lyrics, “the emptiness of a bed too wide” resonating through both sound an visual imagery.

To create this video, Pippa Molony worked with a young dedicated crew through the First Cut Film Festival’s YMVC programme, supported by mentors like Brendan Canty and Bob Gallagher. The collaboration gave the director space to translate something so personal into this visual narrative, one that radiates universality: the yearning for touch, for warmth, for connection.

Barnburner is made up for Pippa Molony and David Mac Dhubháin, are steadily carving out a lane in Ireland’s alt-folk scene. Their delicate, expansive sound recalls influences like Adrienne Lenker, Jessica Pratt, and John Francis Flynn, but with a voice entirely their own. ‘see and sleep’ is their most striking release to date, and a taste of what’s to come on their forthcoming debut EP Nothing to Hold (out later this year).

Catch them at Ireland Music Week this October, and until then, immerse yourself in the full video for ‘see and sleep’, a work of music and film that refuses to look away from the beautiful ache of closeness and loss.

Watch the District world exclusive premiere here:

Video Credits Barnburner ‘see and sleep’
Starring: Kate Brosnan @kate.brosnan Cameron Brady @cameron_brady Millie Molony @milliemolonyxo Blaithin Ward @blaithin.b
Director: Pippa Molony @pippala
Producer: Pippa Molony
Assistant Director: Emmett Gallagher
Director of Photography: Gráinne Galvin @grainnegalvin
Lighting: John Allan @johnsframes
Gaffers: Ciara Smith @ciaran.smith03 Max Bunea @max_bunea
1st AC: Ciaran Smith @ciaran.smith03 Ashish Prasai @ashishprasaii
Editor: Conor Toner @desmorelda @colettes.garage
Production Design: Ben Harte @ben.harte
Costume Design: Lisa Della Chiesa @lisadellachiesaartist
Production Assistant: Luke Conroy @lucas_usual
Colour Grade: Naveen Pa @coloristnav
BTS Photographers: Luke Conroy @lucas_usual & Darragh O’Donnell @photos_by_darraghSpecial thanks to Luke Conroy, Darragh O’Donnell, Brigid Sweeney, Saoirse Gaffey, Sarah Gordon, Brendan Canty, Bob Gallagher, Kate Dolan, Max Le Cain
Made possible by First Cut Youth Film Festival @firstcut_youthfilmfestival

Song Credits Barnburner ‘see and sleep’
Written and performed by Pippa Molony and David Mac Dhubháin (Barnburner)
Produced by Daniel Montague O’Brien
Bass guitar by Dara Abdurahman
Drums by Matteo Poli
Recorded at Paradise Studios, Dublin by Greg Tisdall
Mastered by Hermetech Mastering, Milan