Finally, after an onslaught of posts both large in scope and small in stature, this site has caught up to the current release cycle in all three main categories: streams, full stream, and music videos. It’s been a surprisingly overwhelming early run for great material in all three fields and Wednesday kept that pace humming along.
“Your Best American Girl” winds up with this post’s spotlight for a whole array of reasons. Everything from the directing, to the subtext, to the pointed commentary, to the visual presentation, to the editing, to the song itself ensured that “Your Best American Girl” would be held up an an example of not only the extraordinary but the deeply important. Ever since I first met Mitski, she’s been expounding on the virtues of self-worth and detailing the endless struggles that accompany the path to its attainment.
The Zia Anger-directed clip for “Your Best American Girl” is the most vivid hyper-realization of those defeats and triumphs to date.
After cracking this site’s 50 Best Songs of 2016‘s First Quarter list, “Your Best American Girl” has been on near-constant repeat and that level of investment’s been rewarded tenfold. The anticipation for Mitski’s upcoming Puberty 2 has been growing since the release of Bury Me At Makeout Creek (one of this site’s picks for the Best Albums of 2014) and the arc of “Your Best American Girl” has elevated that anticipation to stratospheric levels. Now, that song’s got an unforgettable video and Puberty 2 seems poised to be another instant classic.
Opening on a shot of Mitski being sprayed, touched up, and transformed into a perfectly made up creature. During this process, she looks overwhelmingly disinterested until the clip cuts to a one shot of a young, conventionally attractive male across the room. Both of them are seated on stools and, eventually, they start exchanging body language, cultivating some palpable sexual tension in the process. While this is a sequence that takes less than forty seconds, it proves to be masterful in its execution, taking great care to both distance the male figure and pull Mitski out of the shadows through clever lighting design and photography direction.
Meticulous details like those inform the rest of “Your Best American Girl” while the central action occurs; an attractive white woman joins the male figure and the pair quickly become physically affectionate as Mitski looks on, confused, distraught, despondent, and displaced. Those looks that occur on the artists end feel painfully honest due to the onslaught of cruel injustices that she’s had to face throughout her life. For a moment, “Your Best American Girl” abandons any semblance of hope and becomes a devastating statement of isolation.
Before long, the video inverts is course and Mitski pulls up her hand and mimics the discomforting display of affection happening across the room. At first, those moments where Mitski becomes amorous with herself feel like they’re drawn from a learned place of loneliness, despair, and the kind of personal anguish that can be derived from having a crushingly low sense of self-worth.
Just a few seconds after the sequence becomes extremely uncomfortable in both its confrontational presentation and its unflinching subtext, something beautiful happens: Mitski reclaims her own agency and fully commits to herself. In just a few frames, “Your Best American Girl” transforms itself from a public display of extreme self-deprecation to a bold, empowering statement that drastically reduces the need for the approval of others.
By the video’s end, Mitski’s shed her carefully-selected ensemble (a red pantsuit that exposes her own vulnerability) and been reborn in a dress, guitar in hand. While there’s still a desire for intimacy, understanding, and acceptance that lingers throughout the closing moments of “Your Best American Girl”, the need’s been lessened by the realization that we’re worth more than our disappointments. It’s a crucial, realistic distinction and it pushes “Your Best American Girl” from being great to being legitimately important.
“Your Best American Girl” is an astonishingly powerful video that perfectly presents the values that drive the majority of Mitski’s work. It’s a daring clip, whose risks are rewarded with the songwriter’s most definitive entry in an already impressive career. If the rest of Puberty 2 lives up to the standard this has set, it’ll be a record that’ll be admired (and played) for decades. Don’t make the mistake of letting this pass without celebration and remember that we all have inherent worth, even during the stretches — especially during the stretches — when that seems impossible.
Watch “Your Best American Girl” below and pre-order Puberty 2 ahead of its release here.
Over the past two days, there haven’t been an overwhelming amount of interesting music videos. The ones that have made an impression, though, made that impression count. Whether it was Car Seat Headrest‘s wry lyric clip for “Fill in the Blank” (a song that features a tremendous outro sequence that allows the song to slowly disintegrate), DTCV‘s Steven Soderbergh(!)-directed, commentary heavy clip for “Histoire seule“, Audacity‘s delightfully scrappy “Dirty Boy“, The Julie Ruin’s Katie Crutchfield-featuring “I Decide“, and Acapulco Lips’ amusingly Gothic “Awkward Waltz“, there were treasures to be found.
The focus, once more, falls to a modest music video from another extremely strong (and, thus far, woefully overlooked) cut from this site’s 50 Best Songs of 2016‘s First Quarter list: Hudson Bell‘s invigoration “Box of Bones”. The Chris Cranford-directed clip for the song is as immediate and direct as the track itself, avoiding getting hung up on unnecessary flourishes and keeping its more absurd elements completely grounded. Compelling, surprisingly nuanced, and artfully crafted, “Box of Bones” manages to lace its accessibility with some powerful imagery while retaining just enough weirdness to keep it from being too easily digestible (or disposable). All told, it’s a thrilling look at Hudson Bell’s current state of mind and a very tantalizing teaser for the act’s forthcoming record, Yerba Buena, which may finally net the project the attention and acclaim it truly deserves.
Listen to “Box of Bones” below and pre-orded Yerba Buena ahead of its release here.
Before going too much further, I’d like to circle back to an astonishing fact: “Fracas” is the only song that Catbus has released. In under three minutes, the band’s made a very serious case for being one of this year’s best new bands. Examining their pedigree (the band’s rhythm section is made up of 2/3’s of site favorites Patio and it’s fronted by bedroom pop artist Phyllis Ophelia), this probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Revisiting bassist/vocalist Lindsey-Paige McCloy’s A Year’s Worth of Memories piece that prominently features Ophelia, it’s also incredibly heartening.
Back to the video: “Fracas” immediately sets its tone with a clever, eye-catching title card and a beautifully framed shot that lingers on what appears to be a dog-shaped coin bank that’s been repurposed into a vase that’s holding flowers (which wind up being a key recurring aspect of the clip). Title cards are also granted to the band’s members whenever they make an appearance, in a manner that echoes Community’s classic A Fistful of Paintballs episode. As drummer Alice Suh enters frame and McCloy and Ophelia gradually work their way in, “Fracas” builds a curious momentum that complements the song its accompanying extraordinarily well.
The direction throughout “Fracas” is remarkably assured, lending a whole new sheen of legitimacy to a project that — and this is the last time i’ll mention this — is only one song into their career. Starting off with Suh ambling around a kitchen, Ophelia haphazardly strumming her telecaster with a hand that’s clutching a maraca as a cat plays on the ground, and McCloy comfortably situated in a bathtub with her bass and a copy of Current Hits for Teens. The latter of those three interiors is where the photography direction starts taking chances, using soft lenses and lighting to conjure up an aura of mystique that ultimately betters the clip.
From the introductory sequences forward, there are a handful of striking cutaways that continuously elevate the artistry of “Fracas”. Whether it’s a low wide of a hallway, a time lapse of the NYC skyline, or the band’s exquisitely framed apartment entrance that pushes the bokeh to the front and effectively draws all attention to the band’s three members, allowing them a fleeting moment where they seem larger than life. The direction of “Fracas” immediately sends them spiraling back down in a sly gesture of self-deprecation that feels perfectly suited to the band. That moment doesn’t last long, though, and the trio finds redemption and sets the party around them into motion by clearing out an area and finally, triumphantly, plugging in to play the song.
As they play, flowers bloom and serve as garnishes for the instruments, they act as hairpieces, they stand out in the projection imagery that washes over the band as they dip into the song’s last section. It’s a beautiful display of symbolism that feels intrinsically connected to not only the way “Fracas” develops but the constitutional beliefs of the band themselves. It’s another piece of essential art in a long line of examples that argues there’s an unbelievable amount of beauty and power to be found in our own modesty. Just as everyone comes together as the song ends, “Fracas” offers up an important epilogue that sees the trio heading out of frame, leaving a trail of flowers in their wake.
Watch “Fracas” below and keep an eye on this site for more updates on the band.
“Full of It” boasts a setup that has done before by countless other bands: the band plays a song in various locations, occasionally doing a quirky thing or two when they’re in a new interior. What separates the best examples of these from the countless other videos that have embraced the concept are all present here: commitment, energy, and a genuine sense of fun. Everyone in Summer Cannibals looks like they’re having the time of their life throughout the duration of “Full Of It”, unable to suppress their grins on several occasions. Of course, the video’s aided by the frantic energy of the song it was designed to accompany and each side of the equation seems to feed into the earnest sincerity of their counterpart.
Whether they’re brushing their teeth in the bathroom, headbanging in bed, poking their heads through closets, practicing in the basement, or playing in the living room, there’s a very clear sense of joy running throughout the entire affair. The masterstroke here, and one that helps Summer Cannibals further distinguish “Full Of It” from the long tradition punk bands have of shooting these types of music videos, is framing the whole thing as a quasi-real estate tour of a home that’s up for sale. By the time the whole band collapses into bed together, they’ve managed to paint a very endearing picture of the band’s current era. All told, it’s a perfect piece of art for a band that should be making quite a few converts before the year’s over.
Listen to “Full of It” below and pre-order the record from Kill Rock Stars here.
After an unbelievably stacked March saw the music video format take off at a sprint, April’s shaping up to be a beast as formidable as its predecessor. Just like the fixed stream posts that will be appearing throughout the rest of tonight, the music video features will all come equipped with shortlists of other titles worthy of attention. In this first round, that included videos from Kidsmoke, Molly, Solids, Journalism, The Bandicoots, The Drones, Steady Holiday, Sundrones, Katie Von Schleicher, and Dreamcrusher. While, as stated, those clips were all great in their own right, it was Minor Victories’ most recent music video that made the strongest impression.
Minor Victories have been slowly stringing together an incredibly impressive run of music videos, each one establishing and enhancing a surprisingly artful visual aesthetic. “Folk Arp” returns to the static shot black & white presentation that made “A Hundred Ropes” so striking. However, the similarities between their presentation end at that point. Outdoor samurais are swapped out for a skeleton crew of employees working in a pizzeria. With a shot that uses a boombox as its centering point, “Folk Arp” allows itself to play out quietly, to tremendous effect.
Utilizing the simplest of premises, “Folk Arp” gradually involves into an emotionally involving character study. Accentuated by the slow-burning intensity of the song’s dynamic setup, the secondary action takes on a ridiculously powerful sheen that finds the band, once again, coaxing maximum effect out of a minimalist setup. As the employees go about their daily routine, the shot stays unchanged, proving that there can be motion in stillness. No matter how frequently patterns may seem stagnant, evolution — at least on the most minute level — is occurring. It’s the most mundane of details but “Folk Arp” seems to be arguing for its undeniable importance. A contained, nuanced work, “Folk Arp” deserves to be used as a reference point for years to come.
Watch “Folk Arp” below and pre-order the band’s self-titled ahead of its June 3 release from Fat Possum here.
Now that both the songs and the full streams have received the massive overhaul treatment in an effort to get this site caught up to the current releases, it’s time to turn to music videos. A few key videos will be featured over the next few days but that shouldn’t take away from the merits of the clips listed below, which number near 200. Whether it was an outstanding song, concept, or visual presentation, something made the below videos stand out from the endless array of clips that I saw since the turn of the year. Like the previous two posts, there’s absolutely no way that these can be consumed in one sitting. The best course of action would be to simply bookmark this page and explore it at random. Go cra
In 2015, I had the distinct privilege of premiering a music video for Dwight Pendleton’s WASHA project. That clip, “Night/Day“, carried a deeply involving solemnity that suggested Pendleton approached his work with a reverence that emerging artists rarely afford their material. It was abundantly clear that both the song and the video were meticulously constructed labors of love, executed with a steely precision.
Now, Pendleton’s pushing the WASHA project forward with “Bury Our Love”, another song from The Bright, Part IIthat now has an accompanying video that manages to best its predecessor in a number of realms. Much more involved from a technical standpoint, “Bury Our Love” nonetheless manages to exert a magnetic calm. A stormy undercurrent steadily amplifies the tension of “Bury Our Love” and is ultimately subverted in a series of chaotic, climactic passages as the video expands to include The Bright, Part II‘s closing track, “I Have Nothing Left to Carry”.
As the song progresses, the video — which was directed by Pendleton — gradually unfurls outward from its opening static sequence. In establishing that fluidity and retaining the almost clinical point of view shot that serves as the thesis statement of “Bury Our Love”, Pendleton manages to conjure up a modicum of uneasiness. It’s an effective maneuver that comes to a head as the clip sharply descends into quasi-nightmarish energy, casting a pall on what had previously been an innocent — if somewhat heavy — succession of imagery.
The visual narrative winds up complementing the song to an eerie perfection, each slowly wrapping around the other’s throat, lost to a deathless match of symbiosis. As “Bury Our Love” winds to its open-ended conclusion, Pendleton releases his grip on a concrete reality and lets the clip fall into a maelstrom of undefined haze; one last reminder that our reality is defined solely by our perception. It’s a deeply impressive piece of art and more than enough reason to be excited about the project’s future.
Watch “Bury Our Love” below, visit this website to watch the clip on a loop, and keep both eyes peeled to this site for further updates in WASHA’s ongoing saga.
Last year Stephen Tringali turned in a piece for this series about working on Chastity Belt‘s “Black Sail” music video. In 2015, he worked on a slew of new projects including his debut feature-length documentary Corridor Four, which centers around an officer from the K-9 unit — and military veteran — who was experiencing PTSD after the bravery he exhibited on 9/11, rushing into the Pentagon to attempt to save as many lives as possible. It’s a big leap from directing and serving as the cinematographer on videos for bands like Big Ups, Low Fat Getting High, and Roomrunner. Here, he talks about seeing Pile play for the first time, discovering Pill Friends, shooting their latest music video, and lists his top 10 albums of 2015. Read it below and hold onto the things you find inspiring.
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My first great musical memory of 2015 was finally getting to see Pile perform. I live in Los Angeles, and I don’t think the band makes it out to the west coast that often. When I saw they’d be playing Los Globos in late March, I marked the date on my calendar and prepared myself to turn down any gigs that might conflict with it. Needless to say, the show was excellent.
Pile, Los Globos – March 29th, 2015 – Ilford 35mm Black & White 3200 ISO Pushed One Stop
Later that year, I had the chance to make a music video for this group from Pennsylvania called Pill Friends. I honestly can’t remember how in the world I found their record Blessed Suffering, but hearing it brought me straight back to high school in Central Pennsylvania. Since moving to Los Angeles, I’ve grown increasing interested with nostalgia and childhood. What images bring up those memories. How to access them after a long time has passed. I wanted to somehow recreate that feeling of growing up in suburban/rural PA for this video.
The band didn’t have much in the way of a budget, so flying back to PA to shoot this video was out of the question. I decided instead to hitch a ride with a college friend on his way back to Denver, CO and stop off in this small town called Leadville, CO where another college friend was working. We spent 3 days filming the people in the town in a kind of documentary style. It was perhaps the scariest premise I could have come up with for a music video because there was such a huge chance that it would fail. What if no one there wanted to be filmed? What if the town didn’t really have the look I was after? What if we were snowed in for most of the time? There were a million things that could have gone wrong.
And maybe that’s why it’s one of my most memorable experiences from this past year. I wanted to make a video that felt less staged, more impromptu, and more genuine than previous videos I had done. Strangely enough, it worked out. There was something exciting about having no clue what we were going to film that day. Plenty of people said no thank you; please don’t film me. But there were other folks who were completely open to the idea. Mechanics, barbers, skateboarders, kids playing basketball. The result turned out to be a really wonderful portrait of the town.
LEADVILLE, CO – November 2015
And finally, I got to have coffee with Michael Sincavage of Low Fat Getting High. I made a music video for his band in early 2015, but all of our communication up until that point had been via e-mail or phone. It might seem a little strange, but I don’t actually get to meet many of the bands I make music videos for in person. I’m really proud of the video I made for LFGH and so thankful that Michael gave me an unusual amount of creative control. It was great to finally meet him in person and talk over coffee. There was just something so encouraging and positive about that experience—that I could make a new friend simply because we connected over e-mail and collaborated on a project together.
My favorite records from 2015:
1. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities To Love
2. Dilly Dally – Sore
3. Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Style
4. Screaming Females – Rose Mountain
5. Built To Spill – Untethered Moon
6. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
7. Yowler – The Offer
8. Ava Luna – Infinite House
9. Pile – You’re Better Than This
10. Protomartyr – The Agent Intellect
Before we begin on this list, it’s worth noting- once again- that this publication isn’t one that’s overly concerned with the artists that already have received major levels of exposure (it’s also worth noting that “best” is a formality and a pale reflection of lists born out of subjectivity that are constructed around a fairly rigid set of rules). That said, I’d be remiss to not mention that what I personally believe to be the three most important clips of the year (Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright“, Vince Staples’ “Señorita“, and Run the Jewels’ “Close Your Eyes (and Count to Fuck)“) all used multifaceted black-and-white presentation to haunting, startlingly effective- and extremely pointed- levels. While those acts may have had access to expanded resources, the artists that made this list were able to find ways to flourish on technical and artistic levels. These clips are only scratching the surface of an extraordinary year for music videos but still managed to find ways to stand out from the crowd.
15. Fraser A. Gorman – Shiny Gun
Was there any narrative-driven clip as lighthearted as Fraser A. Gorman‘s “Shiny Gun” in 2015 (or 2014 for that matter)? Operating with a freewheeling sense of camaraderie and a genuine sense of fun, it’s a nearly iconic clip for an artist that deserves to be recognized on his own merits rather than just as an associate of label boss Courtney Barnett (who has a delightful cameo in the video). From the dryly comic premise to the impromptu guitar solo session that acts as its resolution, “Shiny Gun” is pure entertainment.
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14. S – Remember Love
Last year, S appeared on this list for the heartbreaking “Losers” clip, which was teeming with genuine emotion and presented in bare-bones, DIY fashion. “Remember Love” sees S continuing to succeed on both of those accounts in instantly memorable ways. Ostensibly a parable about the metaphorical ghosts and skeletons that accompany the dissolution of relationships, “Remember Love” pulls off providing them with a physical form. By all accounts, the provided costume should feel too on-the-nose yet the video somehow finds a way to humanize its characterization to a point where the clip’s climax- and surprisingly profound final moment- feels genuinely devastating.
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13. Diet Cig – Scene Sick
Over Easy, Diet Cig‘s immediately likable debut EP, established the duo as a fount of brash youthfulness and sheer joy, even in songs that dealt with some weightier issues. Even in a strong year for the band that saw the release of a few more clips and a tremendous 7″, nothing captured their aesthetic more than their video for “Scene Sick”. A simplistic concept maximized to an absurd level of success, it finds guitarist/vocalist Alex Luciano gleefully dancing next to a stone-faced Noah Bowman (the band’s drummer) before a brief rest that sees them both exploding into a frenzy of completely carefree moves over the most apt of refrains. No stakes are ever present and the duo dive into their roles with ecstatic abandon.
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12. Dilly Dally – Desire
In December, no band was mentioned more times on this site than Dilly Dally, whose Sore has been in near-constant rotation here since its release. While the clips for “The Touch” and (especially) “Purple Rage” made strong impressions, it was “Desire” that managed to cut deepest. A visual realization of the record’s most central themes, “Desire” also managed to capture the band’s defining dichotomy: exploring the inherent beauty of what’s generally perceived as ugliness. The willingness to explore what makes us human so boldly resonated loudly when it was confined to the record but seeing a depiction of our mundane flaws married to a celebration of our sensuality and sense of wonder turned “Desire” into a staggering experience.
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11. Eskimeaux – Broken Necks
Eskimeaux‘s O.K. was a watershed moment for Gabrielle Smith’s project, striking a perfect balance between somber reflection and a prevailing sense of closeted optimism. “Broken Necks” focuses most heavily on the optimistic side of that equation, bringing the song’s more twee elements to vibrant life as Smith and a cohort of friends walk and/or dance their way through a host of familiar locations scattered around New York. Smith turns in a charismatic central performance, flashing impressive depth as the video progresses through a variety of distinctive modes (deadpan, ethereal, meditative, etc.). Visually, it’s mesmerizing and finds ways to incorporate a few quick tricks into something that winds up feeling like one of Eskimeaux’s most defining moments.
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10. Denai Moore – Blame
Every so often, a music video comes along that boasts enough firepower in its technical elements to prove unforgettable. In Denai Moore‘s clip for “Blame“, everything is firing on all cylinders. From Moore’s turn as a detached passenger to an inspired performance from an antagonized outsider to the gorgeous icy landscape and breathtaking cinematography, it’s a surprisingly moving piece of work. Tapping into a noir-ish narrative that focuses heavily on loss, unfettered emotion, and our capacity for empathy, it’s a striking vision. From its layered worldview to the video’s elevation of the song that acts as its driving force, “Blame” is an uncontested triumph.
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9. Alex G – Brite Boy
Another clip that focuses heavily on loss, Alex G‘s “Brite Boy“, found a way to excel in its attention to implicit detail. Using only black outlines on a white background, “Brite Boy” infuses its classic-leaning animation with a palpable sense of longing. As its two protagonists adventure their way through bouts of surrealism and moments of clarity, a divide begins to emerge and deepen in heartbreaking fashion. It’s an emotionally crippling tour de force cut from a fairly unique cloth that’s already starting to feel more than a little timeless.
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8. Bandit – The Drive Home
Easily one of the most stunning turn-in’s from a cinematographer working in this format in 2015, Bandit‘s “The Drive Home” benefits from the evocative framing that heightens the song’s cinematic inclinations considerably. Easily Of Life‘s most blinding highlight, the Derek Scearce-helmed clip elevates the emotional heft of “The Drive Home” via cold color palettes and sweeping, majestic presentation. Open roads, snow-capped mountains, and jaw-dropping visuals combine and culminate in a memorable final moment that completely removes the clip’s lone human element, ultimately revealing itself as an ego-less appreciation of our surroundings. It’s a powerful decision that cements the status of “The Drive Home” as one of the finest music videos of 2015.
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7. PUP – Dark Days
In 2013, PUP‘s vicious- and viciously entertaining- clip for “Reservoir” earned a spot at the top of the music videos list I co-authored for PopMatters for that year. In 2014, the band followed suit with their unforgettable origin story video for “Guilt Trip“. Both were directed by the creative team of Chandler Levack and Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux, who once again crack this year’s list with the animated clip for “Dark Days“, extending a remarkable run of success with aplomb. Here, the gears are switched from relative bleakness and shocking moments of violence to a modest animated presentation of the decidedly unglamorous lives of touring musicians in a mid-level band. A sense of realism informs close to every step of “Dark Days”, from its unfettered highs to its most crushing lows. By providing what also effectively functions as a distillation of the band’s manic energy, Levack and Schaulin-Rioux have crafted yet another gem.
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6. Courtney Barnett – Kim’s Caravan
One of 2015’s more unexpected commentaries came via Courtney Barnett‘s commendably bleak clip for “Kim’s Caravan“, which honed in on Australia’s most ravaged landscapes while simultaneously providing an unflinchingly intimate portrait of the inhabitants of those areas. Not too far removed from the works of John Hillcoat, “Kim’s Caravan” finds strength in its most somber tones. As the clip progresses, a foreboding sense of doom gets amplified to successively higher levels before culminating in some of the most startling and unforgettable shots of any music video to have been released in the past five years. As shattered glass rains down upon Barnett’s body and a trailer gets abandoned as it burns, the disappointment and anger fueling the clip crystallize. As Barnett walks offscreen in its final moments, it comes across as an impassioned plea and provides a fitting end piece to one of the more effective message videos in recent memory.
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5. Girl Band – Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?
Did any other band find a foothold in definitive visual representation as Girl Band in the past 12 months? It’s doubtful. One of the more difficult decisions going into this list’s ultimate ranking was whether to include “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?” or “Paul”, as each operated on a singular playing field that’s paid massive dividends for the band. Ultimately, the former was selected for being both the introduction to the band’s distinctive approach and the meticulous, surgeon-like precision required for it to work. Playing like one of David Lynch’s wet nightmares, “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage” focuses on the removal of a corpse’s internal organs before taking a sudden left turn into one of the more nightmarish dance parties imaginable, shattering an enormous amount of tension and providing the rest of us with a glimpse of the arsenal of deranged imagery Girl Band had in store for their breakout year.
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4. Hammock – In the Middle of this Nowhere + My Mind Was A Fog… My Heart Became A Bomb
While it’s likely this pairing functions more as a short film than a music video, it succeeds on its own merits to a strong enough degree that the cumulative result felt like an appropriate candidate for this list. Astounding on a technical level, both “My Mind Was A Fog… My Heart Became A Bomb” and “In the Middle of this Nowhere” also succeed in eliciting an emotional response from their high-concept proceedings. Centering on a narrative where a virus has all but wiped out the world’s population, a survivor returns to his now-desolate home that he’d built with his family to try and rebuild his life by any means necessary. Another intimate portrayal of a character whose fate is all but doomed, the setting of these clips allow them to grasp at weightier themes than usual, where things like abandonment are amplified considerably by the circumstance. As the protagonist’s resolve rapidly deteriorates with each subsequent attempt at rekindling his past, Hammock‘s lilting ambient score propels each of the clips towards being modern classics.
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3. Bent Denim – Good Night’s Sleep
It’s difficult to think of a clip that commanded more force with its synergy than Bent Denim‘s aching “Good Night’s Sleep“. A pained examination of the psyche after the loss of a child, its a wrenching, empathetic character study that captures the feeling of being directionless to heartrending effect. In presenting the narrative through the lens of home movies, it imbues the narrative with a discomforting notion that it’s a tragedy that many of us will have to face and find a way to reconcile. The video’s soft tones enhance the intuitively maternal characterization of the clip’s lone performer and adds untold depths of heartbreak to the shot that lingers on a sign that simply says “Momma tried”. Whether “Good Night’s Sleep” deals with death, miscarriage, custody, or abortion is up to the perception of the viewer but any way it’s spun, the video retains its gut-wrenching emotional impact and its level of care for its protagonist. It’s an astonishingly moving portrait rendered with the care it deserves and it’s also one of the finest DIY efforts of this decade.
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2. Julien Baker – Sprained Ankle
An extraordinary amount of work and hyper-meticulous planning has to go into pulling off a successful tracking shot, which is why a few of the finest examples (Children of Men, Hard Boiled, The Shining, etc.) are considered some of the most iconic moments in cinema. In 2015, there were three of these that genuinely stood out: the entirety of the German heist thriller Victoria, the electric second boxing match in Creed, and Sabyn Mayfield’s clip for the extraordinary title track from Julien Baker‘s masterwork Sprained Ankle. It’s a record that’s predominant theme is our mortality, a fact laid bare by the opening lines of “Sprained Ankle”, and Baker conveys the weight of that obsession flawlessly throughout the course of the video. Appearing onscreen as a battered athlete surrounded by a decrepit gymnasium, the imagery drives home the somewhat tragic fact that everything is constantly aging from the moment it’s born into this world. Eventually, the camera pushes past Baker to explore the tattered walls and fading ceiling insulation before circling back to the ground and providing one last look at a now-abandoned gym, haunted by what’s no longer present.
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1. The Fjords – All In
2015 was a deplorable year in terms of senselessly violent acts that were carried out on scales both grand and miniature. From school shootings to accidental bombings, there was barely a reprieve from the damage. It seems fitting, then, that the clip at the very top of this list would offer some sort of commentary on today’s excessive levels of heinously shocking violence. Here, though, the clip in question gains intrigue because of how balanced it manages to be in that commentary, touching on both the displacement that can drive those actions and the childlike mindset that goes into their execution. Nostalgia also plays a factor in “All In“, which is a monumental first effort at a narrative-driven music video for The Fjords (“Almost Real” was granted a compelling lyric video), connecting the thread of media influence to its sudden, unexpected bloodshed. Heightening the disconcerting events that inform “All In”, is the fact that the protagonist is a young child, whose played with a steely commitment that’s nearly as jarring as the clip’s climactic confrontation in front of a hot dog stand. All at once, “All In” manages to succeed as a pointed commentary, a revenge fantasy, and one of the most startling pieces of magic realism in recent memory. Timely and timeless, it’s a towering achievement by any measure and its message lingers long after its first shot rings out.
Leaper, a late 2015 highlight saw Beliefs continuing to impress and they’ve taken that even further with this Alex Earl Grey-directed clip for the record’s title track. Ostensibly a subtle commentary on the the societal expectations that accompany a woman’s appearance, it’s a striking piece of minimalism that resonates because of its inherent truths. As that commentary plays out, “Colour Of Your Name” also touches on the process of transformation and hints at a secure sense of agency. Stripped down to its barest essentials, “Colour Of Your Name” becomes a startling piece of work that plays directly into the zeitgeist and, in the process, has a more than decent shot of securing a position as a timeless work.
Watch “Colour Of Your Name” below and pick up a copy of Leaperfrom site favorites Hand Drawn Dracula here.
Heartbreaking Bravery 