This week's new videos
- By Hazel Sheffield -
- Jan 31, 2013
Another week, another round of artists delivering their music through the visual medium of YouTube. This week’s unofficial theme is the absurd, judging from the creatures lurking in King Krule’s bathtub and the strange surgical procedures Grizzly Bear inflict on themselves in the park. We’ve picked five brand new offerings that should keep your eyes entertained while your ears do the listening.
Also of note this week: C86 enthusiasts Veronica Falls are streaming their new album ‘Waiting For Something To Happen’ over at Pitchfork, mini Florence-Adele hybrid and new Great British Hope, 17-year-old Chloe Howl, has posted a new single called ‘Rumours’ on her Soundcloud, and Bjork, not content with running workshops for schoolchildren in New York, Manchester and London for her last album ‘Biophilia’, has launched a Kickstarter to fund the creation of an educational app.
Now, those videos:
Daughter – Still
The forthcoming Daughter album ‘If You Leave’, out March 18 in the UK, is a record that retains a sense of directness for all of its moody atmospherics. In ‘Still’ an Elena Tonra lookalike (she’s the singer) plays havoc with her eyeliner by weeping at the window while the real Elena performs the song on television.
Grizzly Bear – gun-shy
Grizzly Bear spice up a track otherwise only notable for its dullness with this jittery video. On what looks like your average day down the park, the band enact strange fake medical procedures, drawing blood, skin and tears from themselves in a bid to ‘extract creativity’, as director Kris Moyes told New York Magazine.
Yo La Tengo – I’ll be around
Instead of a using straight up lyric sheet, Yo La Tengo are confusing would-be sing-a-long fanatics everywhere by splicing the lyrics for ‘I’ll Be Around’ with notes from a recipe for spicy tortilla soup. There’s last minute drama too, when the band’s bassist, James McNew, gets arrested at the end of the video. Good job Yo La Tengo have already recorded and released their new album, ‘Fade’.
King Krule – Octopus
Archy Marshall is looking particularly suave in a sharp black suit for the B-side to last year’s ‘Rock Bottom’. Let’s hope he doesn’t need a bath before the strange girl in an oversized rubber hat vacates the tub. New York hip hop wunderkinds Ratking did some interesting things to this song last year, that are still worth your ears.
The Knife – Full Of Fire
Lord only knows what’s going on in the comeback video from The Knife: old women dressed as old men, BDSM on a motorbike, and, uh, housework? What matters is that The Knife is back after Karin Dreijer’s sojourn as Fever Ray. What’s more? The brother-sister duo is back with nothing less than a triple LP, 98 whole minutes long, titled ‘Shaking the Habitual’ on April 8.
By Hazel Sheffield. Blogs at HazelSheffield and tweets at @hazelsheffield
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