There’s a fine line between heartbreak and a punchline, and The High Plains Drifters are happy to walk it. Their new music video for “Funny About Love” premiered recently on VENTS Magazine, and it’s already turning heads at radio worldwide with its blend of dry wit and melodic rock.
Led by singer-songwriter Larry Studnicky, the band has built a reputation for pairing heartfelt lyrics with a sly sense of humor. Their sound draws equally from the melodic pull of Triple A rock and the playful edge of ’80s New Wave. “Funny About Love” zeroes in on the missed connections and misplaced hopes that make relationships both painful and funny. Beneath all the wordplay, however, there’s a familiar ache: the desire to find love again after losing it, even when the next connection brings its own uncertainties.
The origins of this project trace back to a boozy dinner at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The band’s 2019 self-titled debut introduced their hybrid of rock and pop, followed by the Greg Cohen-produced Songs of Love and Loss EP in 2021. Relationships clearly provide endless material—from the thrill of a new spark to the indignities of pining for someone who doesn’t quite return the feeling. Studnicky handles these situations with both affection and sarcasm, letting the jokes land alongside the sting of rejection.
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“Funny About Love” actually started with its chorus. In a 2022 interview with Music Existence, Studnicky recalled having that section before he knew where the rest of the song would go. Rather than forcing a tidy narrative, he let the words suggest the melody. The absurd opening image—a broken heart ending up in a roommate’s stew—unlocked the verses. “Once I had that part, everything else flowed organically,” he explained. He described the refrain as something of an homage to Elvis Costello, and credited Cohen and his bandmates with transforming his initial idea into a fully realized track.
Studnicky moves from the wreckage of one romance straight into the possibility of another, finding promise in something as simple as a shared appreciation for falling rain. French-tipped fingers prompt a joke about speaking French; attraction leaves him tongue-tied. The wordplay keeps things light even as enthusiasm begins to outpace reality. When the woman tells him he’s not her kind, a fleeting hope that more wine might change her mind gives way to an admission that he’s chasing a fantasy.
The real bite of “Funny About Love” comes from the gap between recognizing a bad situation and doing anything about it. The High Plains Drifters find the comedy in seeing the warning signs and continuing anyway, still holding out for a different answer.
More The High Plains Drifters on VENTS Magazine
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Andrew Gesner
HIP Video Promo
+1 732-613-1779
info@hipvideopromo.com
Why it matters: In an era where breakups often fuel angsty anthems, The High Plains Drifters remind us that humor can be just as cathartic. “Funny About Love” proves that a wry perspective on romantic failure isn’t just entertaining—it’s a survival mechanism.
