Written by Sam Armatys & James Tait
This week saw us drowning under a mountain of video clips so good we just had to share them all in a super sized edition of our round up. ALL OF THE VIDEOS. Expressionistic dance, stunning landscapes, public park rage, regurgitated spaghetti, and 90’s revival; we’ve got it all.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Pish
The video to accompany single Pish off upcoming oddly titled Mini Album Thingy Wingy, has all the trappings of a cinematic epic contained in just over five minutes. About to embark on their 25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee tour, the track throws back to the classic BJM shoegaze sound, with drawling vocals and guitar lines for days. Frontman and mastermind behind the band, Anton Newcombe, has expressed a strong interest in creating soundtracks to films, and this video obliges with a beautifully shot exploration of a Japanese woman’s obsession with dance. It is a story about being consumed by your passion night and day and all the joy and madness that ensues. With a brilliant performance from actress Hinako Matsumoto, it is a must see.
Toiné Houston – Summertimmme (Reminiscing Part 1)
If your days have been warming up and you have been searching high and low for some smooth sounds to groove away a sunny afternoon, then look no more. Toiné Houston brings a silky anthem for the summer with her latest track, and has a video that is just too damn cute to pass up. The clip traces the blossoming of a childhood romance with a 90’s production quality that makes it feel like a cross between a Brandy video and the movie My Girl. It’s full of nostalgia and a great track from the neo-soul songstress’s upcoming Love States EP.
Floating Points – Nespole
Remember when Sia released the Chandelier video and everyone was blown away? Well, it seems she has opened the door for more and more music to be brought to life by expressionistic dance moves, with varying levels of effectiveness. One of the best to follow the path has landed this week, with the latest clip from Floating Points, for single Nespole. Every sound of the minimalist electronic track is mimicked by two ballerinas (both played by dancer Kiani Del Valle), with hypnotic motions that explore the malleability of the human body. Light and dark, they spar off against each other across a vast auditorium in a beautifully choreographed sequence. The track comes from EP Eleania, out November 6th.
Hedge Fund – Boyfriend
Sydney indie post-punkers Hedge Fund have released a video for new track, Boyfriend, that demands your attention. If you have ever felt so sad and angry you want to rip up the grass, roll in the dirt and beat the shit out of tree, then this is the clip for you! The clip follows YouTube sensation Jordan Markovina (you might know him better as the hilarious and awesome friendlyjordies) as he goes on a shirtless rampage in a public park, and you can’t help picturing bewildered passersby marvelling at the scene. The high energy track is fistfuls of fun to match and will be stuck in your head for days.
Loose Buttons – Thrill
These indie rockers from NYC released new single Thrill last month and have followed up with a video that embraces their sound, with lo-fi hues that bring back memories of blowing on VHS ribbons after too many plays. Director J.D. Aronson says of the clip “I think we ultimately stayed true to the notion of ‘the thrill’— living in the moment, and being the most authentic version of yourself.” The video traces a night of shenanigans from skating behind cars, to dancing in the street, to the kind of night swimming that would make R.E.M. proud. If you ever taped Rage and re-watched it, you will be oh so familiar with those streaky lines and yellow hues, and it’s a fun little exploration into creating memories.
Elk Road – Not to Worry feat. Governors
Not to Worry is the first track from young Perth producer Elk Road that was released earlier this year and has since received loads of attention. The video clip to accompany it was released this week, and plays like a post card to the artist’s hometown. With stunning landscapes that could find themselves in a tourism commercial, it’s beautifully shot by production duo Matsu & Parks. Juxtaposing the vertical lines of feeling trapped in café’s and office buildings with the horizontal lines of freedom on wide open roads and fields of flowers, it’s an ode to stepping out of the monotony of daily life. You can check out Elk Road at Your Paradise festival next month, Sydney’s Electronic Music Conference in December.
Cosmo’s Midnight (feat. Kučka) – Walk With Me
I’m not usually one for pop music, but this is a damn near perfectly crafted slice of the artform from Sydney twins Cosmo’s Midnight. The vocal assist from Perth electronic songstress Kučka is a sugary falsetto delight that never threatens to become sickly sweet. The dream pop beat is infectious, the synths all kind of lush and the chorus guaranteed to stick in your head. The video is the perfect accompaniment too, Kučka lazing around her bedroom with a Husky, the Cosmo’s Midnight boys riding scooters around an affluent suburb in a pair of tracksuits robbed straight out of the lost property bin at a 90s squash court. There’s pickup basketball, scooter rap squats and Kučka in a kiddie pool before the trio meet up to throw down some of the sweetest choreographed suburban street dance moves you’re likely to see all year. Perfect.
Frøkedal – First Friend
Sticking within the pop world, although dialing it back just a little bit, is this absolutely NSFW video from Norwegian artist Frøkedal to accompany First Friend from her debut I See You EP. It starts out innocently enough, a young couple (portrayed by a pair of Norwegian actors) getting all touchy-feely in the late afternoon balcony sun, I can dig that. But then all of a sudden there’s a hand spider-walking with the creepiest of movements across the railing and then she’s regurgitating spaghetti into her partner’s mouth like some kind of messed up but honey-throated mother bird. The lyric ‘in an ordinary world I want nothing more than having you inside me’ is taken to graphically visual heights, with the woman spending the last minute of the song literally eating her partner, blood everywhere and grinning like a maniac. Shit escalated quickly, but it’s a cool and quirky film clip that swipes right with an ice cold pop song.
Little May – Seven Hours
Just shy of releasing their debut album For The Company this week, Sydney trio Little May have given us an absolutely stunning music video for their song Seven Hours. The song is rock at its most hauntingly beautiful. The video features a back and forth living room ballet between a couple tangled up in their emotions. My favourite part of the entire thing is the menacing black storm cloud hanging above them as they lay on the bed together before the dude wakes up to find his bed out to sea and a humpback whale almost blowing him out of the water. Even if the song was garbage (and it is the absolute polar opposite of that) we’d watch this video over and over again just for the mindblowing visuals. Amazing.
G-Eazy – You Got Me
Sordid is probably the best way to describe the latest music video from Oakland born and raised G-Eazy. The trap beat is positively grungy, the bass turned all the way up as G-Eazy and his entourage enjoy a seedy night out on the West Coast. They visit (and eventually are thrown out of) a dankly fluorescent strip club, choosing instead to roam the streets in the wee small hours clutching bottles of champagne and riding around with the windows rolled down. It’s ratbag and it’s glorious.
L-Fresh The Lion – Get Mine (feat. Parvyn Kaur Singh)
If you don’t watch this video and immediately wish you had a crowd around you to start a slow clap then I don’t know what to tell you. L-Fresh The Lion comes straight out of Sydney’s southwest with a pretty simple message (if you read between the lines of his verbose and socially conscious rapid fire flow) for the sadly perpetual horde of un-Australian racists and bigots he probably has to deal with on a daily basis: fuck off. The video features L-Fresh looking dapper as all get out, delivering an address to an unseen crowd with Australian flags adorning the background, interspersed with grainy television footage of past Prime Ministers (Tony Abbott’s shit eating mug getting quite a look-in), as well as from dark days in our recent history like the Cronulla race riots and those fuck-awful Reclaim Australia rallies. And the man is a goddamn talent, sharp as a tack. He wrote an op-ed piece to accompany the release of this video that is absolutely spot on; highlighting how the words and actions of our political leaders have a poisonous trickle-down effect on our national narrative.
L-Fresh The Lion, doing Australian hip hop proud and a name you need to watch out for.