At the risk of reading too much into it, Peach Pit’s video for “Vickie” seems very much a product of its time, which is to say the fall of a less-than-memorable 2021.

You might remember that as a period when the rains started in late-September after a Death Valley-like summer, and then didn’t stop until half the Fraser Valley looked like Genesis Chapters 6-9. And a time when leaving the house was something that came with a calculated risk, namely the very real possiblity of catching a virus that’s refused to fuck off for what seems like forever. And a time when going to shows was possible, but only if you were willing to sit in a chair with a facemask on no matter how much you felt like ripping up the nonexistent dance floor.

Maybe it’s all that and everything else that makes “Vickie” seem like it’s conveying mixed emotions. When Peach Pit singer-guitarist Neil Smith picks up and runs out of a modest bungalow at the beginning of the song, he takes just seconds to establish himself as a man thrilled to be out of the house for a walk. And walk he does, acoustic guitar in hand, covering a lot of Lower Mainland ground, from the muddy pumpkin-patches of Delta’s Westham Island to the rainy streets of East Van.

If you’re going to sum up Smith’s demeanor as he jumps, jives, shuffles, and modified-duck-struts his way across the screen, it’s dialed in, his eyes almost always on the horizon. Same goes for lead-guitarist Christopher Vanderkooy when he pops in a couple of times in relief, and promptly proves himself one of the best musicians not only in the city, but perhaps the country.

The weather in “Vickie” falls somewhere between gloomy and West Coast grey. But the song’s gorgeous and breezy enough to make you feel like you’re walking on sunshine during the first warm day of spring. All of which is to say that life’s sometimes confusing and you don’t know whether to feel happy or sad. Except then you get back from an all-day walk and Vickie’s not only waiting on the couch, but ready with a blazing bomber. That’s when, against all odds, everything somehow seems okay. Don’t forget to get out of the house this week.

Watch for Peach Pit’s upcoming third album, From 2 to 3, this March.