The Mercy Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based indie band fronted by songwriter Joe Rathbone and featuring drummers David Lopez and Steve Bowman (the original drummer from Counting Crows) and bassist Brad Jones, employs a rhythmic sound led by Rathbone’s gritty guitar and bold lyrics. Recorded in producer Thomas Johansen’s Virginia studio, Some Kind of Beautiful Story is the Mercy Alliance’s sixth record, due for release on September 9th.

On “Washington,” the new record’s first track, Rathbone writes about his titular home. The video is set in D.C., and features Rathbone playing guitar against the black and white city backdrop between shots of the Capitol and the Washington Monument. The video is as homey as the song is, with stills of the city’s parks and residential streets showing the ebb and flow of the people, the desaturated images unifying the confessional tone of the song with the energy of the city.

You can check out the video for “Washington” below, exclusively through Elmore.

– Samantha M. Lopez