It’s video roundup time! Once again, Howl And Echoes are coming in hot with the freshest, most eyeball stimulating music videos to be dropped by the artists you love and some of the artists you don’t know you love yet, of this week. We do all the dirty work and herd them all into one convenient web-based location for you to enjoy every Friday so that you don’t have to. Have yourself a good old gander at the latest offerings from:
The Murlocs – Compensation
Good to see one of my favourite up and coming Australian bands starting off the year with some brand new music. Compensation is The Murlocs’ first single from their just announced upcoming album Young Blindness.
Compensation is the kind of tripped out rocker that had me lunging for the repeat button ad nauseum when I first heard The Murlocs with Space Cadet. Frontman Ambrose’s unmistakeable B-movie shriek keeps you mesmerized, backed by old time rock and roll piano and fuzzy guitars, it’s a sub-three minute gem.
The video is probably deliberately frustrating (it’s like trying to watch an HD movie on an old as dirt computer) but its warped out visuals complement The Murlocs’ sound just perfectly
Young Blindness is out March 18th via Flightless/Remote Control Records
Fat Freddy’s Drop – 10 Feet Tall
Some honey-drizzled soul from our New Zealand neighbours and national treasures Fat Freddy’s Drop comes this week in the release of their newest single 10 Feet Tall, taken from their recently released third studio effort BAYS.
Rich and deep, full of warm brass and laidback rhythms, 10 Feet Tall grooves along at such a contented pace, it’ll suck you in and spit you out the other side feeling nothing but chilled.
The video to go along with it is a stunner, shot in the coastal locale of Pakiri, just north of Auckland. Plenty of lush green and the track will have you levitating 10 feet off the ground like the kids in the clip for sure, if only figuratively.
Catch Fat Freddy’s Drop as they tour Australia throughout February.
Low – Into You
Coming from their latest album, 2015’s Ones And Sixes, is the new video from Minnesotan indie rockers Low for the slow-burning and positively goosebump-inducing Into You.
Minimalistic, with a soft backbeat, intermittent and wavering guitars and the focus planted predominantly on the gorgeous vocals of frontwoman and drummer Mimi Parker, the chorus just soars.
The video accompanying that offers a shimmering view from the crowd at one of Low’s tour dates in Glasgow. The rapt expressions on the faces of the audience tell the entire story.
Catch Low out in Australia on tour this April.
Lion Babe – Where Do We Go
The name Lion Babe is one you’re going to have to start getting used to after today. Marking the release of the New York, New York duo’s debut record, the appropriately titled Begin. They’re a stellar pairing of artists artist and have the industry approval to go with it, having already collaborated with names like Pharell Williams, Childish Gambino and Disclosure.
Where Do We Go is the latest single from Begin and is out to help launch the album. Anchored by rapid-fire trap beats, the disco influences are all over the track, with vocalist Jillian Hervey positively searing her presence all over the track with some fiery and soulful vocals, the production from her partner-in-crime Lucas Goodman just slick.
The video sees the pair on a night out in what looks like NYC’s famous Chinatown, full of dancing, bright lights and brighter costumes. As visually stunning as it is sonically mesmerising.
Begin is out today via Universal Music.
Pussy Riot – Chaika
The latest music video from Russian punk rock protest group Pussy Riot is bad news if your name is Russian General Prosecutor Yuri Chaika, the girls going for the throat with their latest music video for their song named after him.
For context, Yuri Chaika faced allegations of corruption and ties to gangsters from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It was a shitstorm, and the Pussy Riot ladies have lent their talents to the situation, creating a video mocking the General Prosecutor to absolutely no end.
The satirical video, shot in various locations in Moscow, depicts Chaika torturing prisoners, accepting cash bribes (and immediately showering in them) and generally being a real piece of shit. Also taking their lumps in the song and video are Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin and Russia’s justice system. There are English subtitles to help non-Russian speakers along.
Just another reason we love the work of Pussy Riot.
White Denim – Ha Ha Ha Ha
From Moscow, Russia to Austin, Texas comes the latest single from four-piece experimental rockers White Denim, who today released the audio video for Ha Ha Ha Ha, the first taste of their upcoming seventh LP Stiff.
Liberal lashings of vintage funk, pure Texas guitar licks and the Chris Cornell-esque vocals of frontman James Petralli combine to create one hell of a song, the accompanying video a visual fever dream filled with pinecones constructed of lips, cacti just everywhere (including underpants) and doves flitting in and out.
Stiff is out March 25th via Downtown/Sony Red.
Elliphant – Step Down
Having just dropped the tracklist for her next album Living Life Golden, multifaceted Swedish artist Elliphant has everyone looking very much forward to that album, now known to feature names like Skrillex, Major Lazer, MØ, Azealia Banks and Twin Shadow.
Today she gave us another reason to look forward to it with the release of the video for the second single from that album in Step Down. It’s a pissed off electro pop track sounding like the inside of your head on a bad hangover. The video might detail the cause, a fancy dinner party that goes all kinds of south and ends up positively Caligulan.
We can’t wait for more from Elliphant. Living Life Golden is out March 25th via TEN.
Spookyland – God’s Eyes
Having drawn comparisons to both Kurt Vile and Wavves, Sydney-quartet Spookyland are riding an absolute pipeline of hype ahead of the release of their debut record Beauty Already Beautiful due out this year. This week they’ve gone about justifying it with the release of God’s Eyes, the lead single from that album.
Sweet Jesus, is every single bit of hype deserved. God’s Eyes is a Springsteen-esque rock anthem that is absolutely shattering. Building and crashing and burning, intelligently-written and utterly gripping, the towering crescendo to end the song will leave you weak at the knees.
The video accompanying it is a simple black and white band video as they run through the song dressed in black in an all white room. The video could be of paint drying for all I care though, this song is just something fucking else.
Beauty Already Beautiful is out May 6th via Inertia Music.
FIDLAR – Why Generation
Out in Australia right now to get ‘loud and obnoxious’ and absolutely tear Laneway a new one are LA noisemakers FIDLAR. To mark the occasion they dropped us a brand new video for Why Generation, one of the hardest hitting tracks from their sophomore 2015 record Too.
Years from now, when trying to describe this generation, they’ll probably talk of our obsession with Emojis. FIDLAR have thus given us what I think (using my very half-assed research) might be the very first music video made entirely of those little smiling bastards (if you don’t count drummer Max eating a burrito at the start).
Clever as fuck is what it is, and also hilarious. Give it a watch and see how many of your most frequently used get a run! And make sure you catch FIDLAR while they’re here.