Just last week electronic aficionado Alan Palomo, otherwise known as Neon Indian, dropped his third album VEGA INTL. Night School to a wave of positive reviews. Now he’s released a short film for the lead single Slumlord Rising that looks just as it sounds – sleazy, violent and brilliant. The video is co-directed by Palomo and Tim Nackashi.
The video taps into an 80’s underworld vibe with some futuristic elements, documenting when a night goes wrong. There’s gangsters, fake teeth with embedded electronics, self-choking necklaces, and power-rangers-esque helmets. It follows a young woman who ventures into a club that is soon soaked with blood as it is taken over by the slumlord. Much violence of course ensues and there’s even a sprinkling of suspense – who is behind the mask? Wouldn’t you like to know? It hints at a serious of videos which is becoming increasingly popular late, after Disclosure attempted a similar feat for their recent album. There’s a definite dose of sci-fi, which nicely coincides with hype around Back to the Future as today is the day that Marty McFly travels to in the future.
The video has been teased for a while, with the launch of Neon Indian’s hotline number 1-512-643-VEGA. For those who gave it a buzz, they got a special greeting from Alan and were sent a preview gif of the video. It has now been updated with a new message from Alan.
VEGA INTL. Night School is Neon Indian’s third album, after 2009’s Psychic Chasms and 2011’s Era Extrana, which likewise received rave reviews.