Is there anything Cass McCombs didn’t do in 2011? The man released two acclaimed LPs, Wit’s End and Humor Risk (both Domino), and gigged behind both albums. Honestly, he’s putting the rest of us to shame. Somehow between cutting new LPs and touring he found the time to shoot a video for “The Same Thing,” the lead single from Humor Risk. Like the perfect home movie from the ’70s, the clip captures various inanimate objects and different home scenes that complement the song wonderfully. Watch the video below, and read our McCombs feature in issue #83.
The video for “Main Street” finds Deer Tick right in the middle of being attacked by fireworks. As the band’s set crumbles around it, the guys lets loose by breaking their instruments, burning things and peeing on drum kits. It’s as destructively rock ‘n’ roll as a video can get, and Deer Tick makes it look effortlessly cool. Make sure to grab the band’s latest album Divine Providence (Partisan), read our Deer Tick feature in issue #83, and watch the video for “Main Street” below.
You Can Be A Wesley‘s video for “Giants” illustrates the awkwardness of high-school like no other band could. The staged photos, the cramped limo, the weird hired band, the godawful dress colors—it’s all there. “Giants” shows You Can Be A Wesley at its most campy, a fantasy prom that skips right past bad and goes straight into fun. Be sure to grab a copy of You Can Be A Wesley’s self-released debut album, Heard Like Us, and watch the “Giants” video below.
In the late ’60s, the Beatles released Yellow Submarine, a trippy animation interlaced with many of their most popular songs. In the spirit of the Fab Four’s psychedelic masterpiece comes “Unknown Faces At Father James Park,” the first single from the Phenomenal Handclap Band‘s new album, Form And Control (Tummy Touch). The video, featuring children abusing what seems to be cough syrup, draws unabashedly from the ’70s, particularly due to the grainy quality of the film used to record it. Surprisingly, “Unknown Faces” tells a coherent, even exciting story, doing merit to the music video as a form of art. Form And Control is out February 14. Watch ”Unknown Faces” below.
The Duke Spirit, a polished rock ‘n’ roll outfit from the U.K., has just released a video for “Don’t Wait,” off Bruiser, which will be released in physical form January 17 via Shangri-La but is available now via digital download. The tune has an infectious, pounding drum beat and is punctuated by Liela Moss’ lilting, expressive vocals. The video is a black-and-white look into the band’s live performances, full of the sweetness and intensity the Duke Spirit is known for. Watch “Don’t Wait” below.
Self-proclaimed “slacker punks,” Yardlets—Sam Goldberg (Broken Social Scene), Sebastian Grainger (Death From Above 1979) and Jeff Edwards (Shot While Hunting)—have just released a video for “Lot Lizard,” a track from their 3-song Lot Lizard EP. Their debut album is due in 2012, but until then you can enjoy the EP’s fast-paced, whimsical title track. The video is set in a black-and-white, 3D animated world, and the bandmates (as robots) cruise down a highway on the back of a truck, meeting sexy lady robots and stopping at gas stations along the way. Watch the clip below.
Almost six months after the release of its sophomore effort, Bon Iver is reissuing chart topper and critics’ darling Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar) as a digital-only deluxe edition. What’s so deluxe about this album the second time around, you ask? Custom-made visual accompaniments to each and every song, that’s what. Not quite music videos and not quite your iTunes visualizer, these videos are “meant to be consumed as a visual extension of the music,” says the band. Highfalutin’ language aside, we have to admit that the videos are gorgeous, so consume away, friends. Start with the clip for “Perth” below.
From hopeful kids in their basements to famous stars making viral videos, music and YouTube are becoming a more and more common pairing. YACHT‘s video for “I Walked Alone,” from 2011 release Shangri-La, takes this pairing to a whole ‘nother level. The video is directed by Mitchell Davis, a YouTube sensation with more than 112 million channel views, who has been a longtime supporter of YACHT. The clip follows the band as its members dance around in a beautiful desert at sunset, then moves to a stark white room with various dancers in white outfits encircling singer Jona Bechtolt. It’s campy, creative fun that marries Davis’ passion for travel and scenery and YACHT’s quirky music. Watch the video below.
Serenades, the Swedish duo of Adam Olenius (Shout Out Louds) and Markus Krunegar, are making waves with the video for their latest song “Oceans.” The track’s slinky and sweet melody is punctuated by video of ice-blue oceans and schools of fish swimming to and fro. Serenades just recently released their Coming Home EP (Cherrytree), and it’s filled to the brim with symphonic gems like “Oceans.” Watch the video below.
Julian Koster, like his music, seems to be obsessed with magic and nostalgia. So it goes with the Music Tapes‘ latest offering, a video for “Nantasket.” Thoroughly reminiscent of the holidays, “Nantasket” details the journey of a paper reindeer across various locales, interspersed with original footage from ’50s-era amusement parks and carousels. Despite this minimalism, Koster gives his audience a wonderful gift: a spiritual, childlike wonder that few adults can still immediately relate to, but which will soon nudge even the most miserly into a certain warm, timeless spirit. Check out the video below.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gauntlet Hair. Music videos. Somehow these three things came together in a pop-culture explosion that can only be described as “awesome” to create the clip for “Top Bunk,” off Gauntlet Hair’s self-titled album (on Dead Oceans). The boys are huge Schwarzenegger fans, as evidenced by a video that includes the Terminator star in various films throughout his career. Perfect for the action-film and avant-pop fan alike, the clip is a geeky ode to ’80s nostalgia. Watch it below.
Handsome Furs began in 2009 by touring Asia, playing all across the continent and documenting their adventures for CNN. While in Beijing, China, they happened to meet Han Xia, a film student. And the rest is history. She directs their latest video for “Serve The People,” off Sound Kapital (Sub Pop), the third album from the band. It follows one man’s day, from the mundane to the magical. Watch the clip below.
Bombay Bicycle Club, a folksy British group with winsome charm, has just released a video for “Leave It,” off A Different Kind Of Fix (A&M/Octone). The clip is a thoughtful introspection on the meaning of life, illustrated by a group of people sitting in chairs. As the camera swivels around the room, beginning with an empty chair and ending with a lone candle, all the stages of life are shown: marriage, the birth of children, middle-age, old age and, finally, death. It’s clever, melancholy and a perfect illustration of Bombay Bicycle Club’s innovation. Watch “Leave It” below.
Still Corners, a band well-versed in music and movie history alike, just released the video for “Into The Trees,” off Sub Pop debut Creatures Of An Hour. A trippy, transitive journey through some Twin Peaks-esque scenery, the video for “Into The Trees” is a retro delight. Download an mp3 of the track here, and watch the video below.
Chairlift gets freaky in its video for “Sidewalk Safari,” the first track off Something (Columbia, January 23). The clip was co-directed by Eric Epstein and Chairlift founder Caroline Polacheck. Watch “Sidewalk Safari” below as the camera shifts and distorts perspective while Polacheck sings about running people down with her car.
Seattle’s Fleet Foxes have released a video for “The Shrine/An Argument” from their acclaimed sophomore LP, Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop). Sean Pecknold, brother of vocalist Robin Pecknold, directed the lengthy clip. Reminiscent of Where The Wild Things Are, it’s a spooky adventure filled with all sorts of creatures. Watch the creative video below.
There’s a long history of actors trying their hand at music careers, from the mildly successful to the awkward and hilarious. Luckily, Childish Gambino (nee Donald Glover) falls into the first category. Currently starring on NBC’s little-seen critical darling Community with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase, Glover has been making mixtapes as Childish Gambino since early 2008. His Glassnote debut Camp is a rip-roaring album full of clever pop-culture references, commentary on societal racism and a worthy successor to Kanye West’s The College Dropout. The video for “Bonfire,” the lead single from Camp, is an eerie clip with all the suspense of Halloween stories and all the plot twists of The Sixth Sense. How could you not enjoy a song that starts off with “Homegirl drop it like the NASDAQ”? Watch the video below.
In Maria Taylor‘s latest music video for “Matador,” the singer/songwriter takes a very direct look at herself with no real story line. Instead, we’re in a scene of a large group of musicians and friends all playing with Taylor around a bonfire. As the song climaxes, so does the party, and soon everyone is singing, drinking and dancing around the flames. “Matador” is from Taylor’s most recent effort, Overlook (Saddle Creek). Watch the video below.
All holiday songs bring up specific images and feelings: the shiny paper encasing the piles of presents under the tree, the joy of seeing (or not seeing) loved ones, the warm nostalgia that carols and cocoa bring. It’s no surprise, then, that Scott Weiland‘s video for “Winter Wonderland,” a song off of his newest album, The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Atco), invokes all that and more. The video follows him as he wanders in and out of classic Christmas scenes from the ’50s and beyond. Watch the video below.
WATERS, a group made up of Norwegian imports and that one American guy, have been taking the U.S. and Europe by storm. The band is currently promoting Out In The Light (TBD). WATERS just released a second music video from the album, for the song “Back To You.” The clip plays more like a tour diary; it flashes kaleidoscope colors as the bandmates get silly, get stupid and put on some incredible concerts. There’s enough hair-flipping and guitar-thrashing to keep any rock ‘n’ roll fan happy. Watch the video below.
The Big Pink is never interested in playing it safe. From its debut to forthcoming album Future This (out January 17 via 4AD), the band has made a name for itself by elevating normal Britpop tropes to truly massive synth outings. The video for new song “Hit The Ground (Superman)” showcases the Big Pink’s ambition and creativity. Watch it below.
There are so many forgotten bands from the ’80s—too many to name. One thing is certain: Only the best and brightest from that musical decade are still around, and one of those groups is Indigo Girls. The famous duo is still making music, sharing its pitch-perfect harmonies with new and old fans alike. The Girls’ just released their 14th(!) studio album, Beauty Queen Sisters, via Vanguard Records, as well as a video for “Making Promises.” Watch the clip below.
Screen Vinyl Image, a quirky husband-and-wife duo with an affinity for synthesizers, is no stranger to the weird and wonderful side of music. It’s no surprise then that the twosome’s video for “Night Trip,” off Strange Behavior (Custom Made Music), is a colorful, grainy look at city nightlife. Somewhere between a raver’s disco dream and a psychedelic nightmare, “Night Trip” illustrates Screen Vinyl Image’s unique horror-tinged style. We are proud to premiere the video today on magnetmagazine.com.
The Bats are a New Zealand outfit that’s had an almost 30-year career. From playing in dive bars in the ’80s to touring with Radiohead to gaining international and local fame, the Bats are impressive indie-rock pioneers. Their eighth album is Free All The Monsters (Flying Nun), and they just released a video for the title track. “Free All The Monsters” tells the story of three young children who encounter an alien spaceship and are whisked away on adventures involving a dinosaur creature. Watch the clip below.
Friendly Fires, a disco/funk band from the U.K., just released the video for “Hurting,” off Pala (XL). The clip is a mind-bending concoction of street dancing, CGI and superpowers. The video features some truly dream-like images, with Friendly Fires showing their love for the weird and wonderful. Watch “Hurting” below.
Family Of The Year is a folk/pop band from sunny L.A., and its video for the title track off the St. Croix EP (tinyOGRE) just wants to put a grin on your face. The clip, directed by Oscar-nominated Jessica Anders, is an ode to every swinging ’50s beach party you wish you could have attended. Watch it below.
For a music video that takes place in just one scene, it’s the strangely choreographed dance that really holds your attention. High Places‘ experimental nature takes form in a darkened room with bright sunshine beaming through heavy curtains that sheds sharp contrast over a lone female figure (Busy Gangnes of Telepathe). The duo’s latest track, “Sophia” has got haunting vocals over a new-wave-type beat, drawing a slight Coco Rosie comparison. The song is off Original Colors (Thrill Jockey). Watch “Sophia” below.
Rebecca Black’s “Friday” began with the stereotypical opening of a composition notebook, and Telekinesis continues this trope in its video for “Country Lane,” off 12 Desperate Straight Lines (Merge). Indeed, the high-school framing device remains present, though Telekinesis soon beautifies its video with stop motion, live footage and sepia tone. Lots and lots of sepia tone. Though the video may not be the most original thing to grace the Internet, “Country Lane” presents a decent portrayal of a band in its natural element, an ode to good friends who practice and play together. Check the video out below.
Okkervil River, which released I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar) earlier this year, is well-versed in nostalgic music videos. The band’s first video for ”Your Past Life As A Blast” was a tender look back at childhood and what it means to grow up, shown through various grainy shots of summer vacation and smiling family gatherings. This second video for the song, directed by Isaac Ravishankara, was an alternate take on the subject of nostalgia: He wondered how he could capture a memory. Watch his video for “Your Past Life As A Blast” below.
The Kills are set to hit the road for a run of dates in the U.S. starting January 20 in Chicago. But if you’ve never heard the excitable blooze-rawk duo before, watch the bizarre clip for “Baby Says.” The slow-burner of a track comes off the Kills’ most recent album, Blood Pressures (Domino). Check it out below.
Thanks to John Wesley Harding for guest editing our website all week. Be sure to check out his new LP, The Sound Of His Own Voice. Here’s the video for album track “There’s A Starbucks (Where The Starbucks Used To Be).”
A true American singer/songwriter, Cass McCombs croons masterful storytelling lyrics on “The Same Thing.” The track is off McCombs’ recently released Humor Risk (Domino), which he is supporting with a brief West Coast happening right now. Watch the video for “The Same Thing” below, and look for a McCombs feature in issue #83.
A trio made up of three sisters from San Antonio, Girl In A Coma has just released the video for “Smart,” off Exits & All The Rest (Blackheart). With songs ranging from punk to indie-pop ballads, the LP has a variety of styles. The band is currently on tour in support of Exits & All The Rest. Check ‘em out, and watch the video for “Smart” below.
The modern pop darlings in Mates Of State have a new music video for “Sway,” off latest release Mountaintops (Barsuk). The clip features a girl, disappointed at a high-school dance, who ventures Alice-style down a hole in the gym floor and enters a dreamscape of a forest. Check out the enchanting video below.
Known for their rambunctious energy and entertaining stage presence, Casiokids are back at it again, showing off their odd sense of humor in the video for “Det Haster!” (“it’s urgent!”). Casiokids’ honed electro-beats aren’t the only thing that will hold your attention as the band brings back your favorite childhood toys and stuffed animals. Watch as the Norweigians revolt against the dolls they hold so near in a truly peculiar fashion. ”Det Haster!” is off Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen (Polyvinyl), the group’s full-length follow-up to its U.S. singles collection, Topp Stemming Pa Lokal Bar. Watch the video below.
