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 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:
Okkervil River – Okkervil River R.I.P.
Starting in New Hampshire this week and folk rock quintet Okkervil River’s latest single Okkervil River R.I.P. It begins a gentle acoustic song, frontman Will Sheff crooning softly over a lone guitar before the rest of the band kicks in around the chorus, falling away again for a mournful finish.
The video is morbid yet beautiful, set around a funeral for Sheff, who sings from inside an open casket. Shot in some stunning locations in upstate New York, the gorgeous sun dappling across leafy trees and green grass offsets the usual gloom a funeral brings about.
Okkervil River’s next studio album is out September 9th on ATO.
Beaty Heart – Raw Gold
To South London next with electro pop trio Beaty Heart and the new video for single Raw Gold. Their new album Till The Tomb just a few weeks away, Raw Gold is the latest taste of that record. Shimmering synths and complex tribal rhythms (understandable when you know that all three members are drummers) form the crux of some wonderfully dark electro pop here, singer Joshua Mitchell’s impressive vocal range utilised fully.
The video features Brazilian longboarder Ana Maria Suzano riding around in a warehouse, the streets and a rooftop. Her fluid, graceful movements match the song so perfectly, you’ll be mesmerised.
Till The Tomb is out July 29th on Harvest.
Sarah Connor – Apex (ft. Bigredcap and Losty)
Sarah Connor has a debut EP coming right up and she’s released a new single in preparation. Apex sees the Sydney MC going all kinds of hard over some menacing production, reflecting the song’s title and pulling few punches (but a few middle fingers) in establishing her place at the top early.
With co-conspirators Bigredcap and Losty, Connor have a day out roaming the streets of Sydney grime style in the accompanying video. You can catch Sarah for the official launch of Apex at Plan B Small Club next Saturday July 16th.
Polographia – Sly (ft. Winston Surfshirt)
Sydney duo Polographia have a new single out today in Sly. They’ve harnessed an almost tropical sound here, soft guitars, wavering synths and a scuttling bass line underscoring featured artist Winston Surfshirt’s breezy vocals, Sly is positively peaceful.
The accompanying video carries over this tropical vibe, lo-fi with the pastels set to lurid, bikini girls dancing in front of reef fish and palm trees at sunset. It’s the perfect single to remind you that Winter is temporary.
Catch Polographia when they support Snakehips in Sydney and Melbourne in a fortnight.
MAF Muses – MAF Million Is Born
The second artist on this week’s roundup to have a semi-eponymous single is North-West London’s MAF Muses and his new single MAF Million Is Born. He’s currently emerging as a solo artist, having previously been half of London Soundklash, and it looks like he’s ready for the spotlight, opening with the line “I think it’s time”, before spitfire flowing over his own uniquely discordant production.
MAF returns to his roots in the accompanying video, wandering around close to where he grew up in Camden, not another soul in sight as another sign this young artist is ready to make it on his own. There’s more to come from MAF Muses in the near future so his might be a name you learn very quickly.
Preoccupations – Anxiety
Canadians Preoccupations have a new name and a new album out in 2016. They now also have a new single in this week’s Anxiety. It’s a jarring, dirge-y listen, frontman Matt Flegel’s almost robotic vocals warbling about “all-encompassing anxiety” out over harsh, lo-fi guitars before a soft little synth melody adds some lightness as the beat drives along.
The video, directed by David Yoonha Park, was shot in wooded British Columbia and does its best to creep the viewer out. It’s a series of shots meant to represent childhood fears and phobias, the black and white lighting only making them worse. Still a great track and an evocative video.
Preoccupations is out September 16th on Jagjaguwar via Inertia.
Cassius – The Missing (ft. Ryan Tedder)
French duo Cassius have a new single from their forthcoming album Ibifornia. Titled The Missing and featuring a molasses thick bass line and some classic RnB rhythms under the soulful vocals of featured singer Ryan Tedder (who you may know from OneRepublic), it’s a quintessential summer jam that will have you almost feeling the coastal humidity.
The video is unique, focusing on a couple having a passionate night out somewhere vibrant (meant to represent both Ibiza and California in case you hadn’t clued from the album title). The twist is that the viewer can change each member of the couple in real time by clicking on them, a total of 20 different characters of all backgrounds and over 100 possible combinations. Certainly one of the more innovative interactive videos we’ve seen.
Ibifornia is out August 26th on Interscope/Polydor.
Peaches – Vaginoplasty
Living legend and electro pop queen Peaches has a new video as well that is everything we’ve come to expect from her. Vaginoplasty is the name of her latest single, taken from her 2015 album Rub. It’s an absolute club banger, Peaches’ idiosyncratic almost spoken word vocals over huge stabbing synths and a beat made to dance to, listen out for the subtle homage to Smells Like Teen Spirit in there too.
The video is the icing on the cake, featuring dancers and synchronised swimmers dressed as different parts of the female anatomy, unicorns blow-drying their nether regions and Peaches herself dressed in an incredibly NSFW bodysuit all cavorting around a waterfall. I’d say we’ve reached peak Peaches here but, as she has proven time and again, there may be no such thing.
Rub is out now on I U She Music.
Image: Stereogum