Heartbreaking Bravery

Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit has managed to standout from an already over-crowded 2015 since its release. It reaffirms Barnett’s clout as a songwriter by effectively expanding her range. “Kim’s Caravan”, a sprawling treatsie on Austarlia’s increasingly ravaged landscape, being the record’s most arresting example. Recently, it was given a Bec Kingma-directed clip that more than did the song’s serious subject matter justice. Before diving too far into that video’s innumerable strengths, it’s worth noting that the past few weeks have been full of great clips. To help get the site caught back up, the next few posts will be devoted to those clips- just like the handful preceding Watch This were connected to songs.

Each of these posts will come with a featured video and ten accompanying clips, all of which are worthy of heavy investment. Starting off this round of music videos are Eternal Summers’ stop-motion “Together Or Alone“, Mittenfields’ color-damaged clip for “Optimists“, Sheer Mag’s characteristically scrappy “Fan the Flames“, currents’ deranged revenge fantasy “Build Ups“, and The Wooden Sky’s low-key dancefloor romance “Saturday Night“. Whitewash’s hallucinatory “Tentacle”, Peach Kelli Pop’s blissed-out sugar rush “Princess Castle 1987“, Night School’s incredibly lo-fi singalong “Unkind“, Coeds’ stock visual-effects experiment “Sensitive Boys“, and Never Young’s intensely dark “Like A Version” round out this post’s offerings. While, as mentioned, they’re all worth repeat viewings, this post’s focus belongs to Barnett’s stark, mesmerizing clip for “Kim’s Caravan”.

While it may be too early to brandish a term like masterpiece, it’s certainly tempting. Kingma’s vision- especially when paired with Joshua Aylett’s photography direction- recalls fellow Australian filmmaker John Hillcoat (The Proposition may actually be the closest companion to “Kim’s Caravan”). An almost harsh sense of rural lyricism is on full display as the clip traces over desolate scenery, downtrodden inhabitants, and Barnett herself to create a bold artistic statement. Coming on the heels of the nonchalant “Pedestrian At Best“, “Kim’s Caravan” takes on the feeling of an epic. After establishing a palpable sense of loss, the clip arrives at an arresting climax that includes what will likely go down as one of 2015’s most unforgettable shots. Packaged all together it’s just about enough to knock the wind out of anyone lucky enough to lose themselves to the video’s spell.

Watch “Kim’s Caravan” below and order Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit here.