Sometimes a great music video can take an amazing track to a whole other level. From Purity Ring’s return to that ‘American Teen’ life and horror movie visuals, check out our favourite new video clips and see for yourself.
LOYALTY – Kendrick Lamar ft. Rihanna
The video for ‘Loyalty’, the latest single off Kendrick Lamar’s double platinum album DAMN. featuring Rihanna and directed by Dave Meyers along with Kendrick himself, pieces together a series of symbolic imagery to tell a story of romance, trust, and love.
Opening to an adaptation of Eyes Wide Shut – a blindfolded Kendrick sits in a red room surrounded by beautiful women as Rihanna sings about a secret society on the hook. A woman in the red room takes a knife to Kendrick’s head with the clip then transitioning to an urban metropolis where Kendrick sees many of his friends sinking into the concrete road while sharks swim below the surface. In the next scene, Kendrick says, “trust me”, and then proceeds to hold on to his lover as she hangs off the top of a building.
The cinematic video finds Kendrick and Rihanna in various dangerous and surreal situations – with a very Bonnie-and-Clyde-type feel and a thematic focus on doing the right thing in love. From the cinematography to the imagination behind some of the ideas represented, ‘Loyalty’ is relentlessly vigilant.
By Jordan Maharaj
Asido – Purity Ring
In celebration of the five-year anniversary of their debut album, Shrines, Purity Ring have released a new track and video to keep fans appeased after their two-year hiatus. While, ‘Asido’ may not resonate with the otherworldly synth trademark of their back catalogue, there’s no doubt it will be stuck in our heads for the rest of the week.
The accompanying video, directed by Purity Ring vocalist Megan James, features classic Tallulah Fontaine illustrations brought to life by animator Roxana Bentu. Purity Ring’s whimsical and peculiarly morbid lyrics accompany the hypnotic animation in scrawled handwriting at the bottom of the screen – at convenience for those that struggle to decipher Megan’s lilting vocals, we assume?
Fingers crossed the release of ‘Asido’ hints that a third album in the works for the Canadian duo… two years is too bloody long, guys!
By Ashleigh Douglas
I Dreamed a Dream – Darren Criss
Ever-so-dreamy Darren Criss has a talent for stunning teenage fangirls and music lovers alike with silvery vocals fit for a Disney Prince – funny enough, the guy actually shot to cyber-fame through his acoustic YouTube cover of The Little Mermaid’s ‘Part of Your World’. Last week, the Very Potter Musical star was back at it with another classic cover for fellow thespians, Les Miserables’ ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’ a take with only his golden voice and guitar for a very calming, albeit solemn performance. If by any chance you had an (oddly specific) craving for a show-tune with an acoustic twist, these two and half minutes are all you need.
By Ana-Isabel Alonsagay
Young Dumb & Broke – Khalid
Khalid dropped his debut album, American Teen earlier this year and if you haven’t joined the hype train, you’re missing out. While American Teen spins tales of drug and booze-fueled high school ragers, the video for the second single ‘Young Dumb & Broke’ depicts the high school experience as sweet, carefree and uncomplicated. A straight down the road ballad sung over a simple hip-hop beat, ‘Young Dumb & Broke’ drifts with an easygoing attitude that resembles a cross between one of Frank Ocean’s dreamy dazes or Buddy’s joyous bounces.
Incidentally, Buddy and Fifth Harmony’s Normani Kordei make appearances in this celebrity filled video set in high school. Which, apparently involves chomping down on some pizza, lazing about in the sun, dancing in the cafeteria and every seminal high school experience, the yearbook awards and prom! Prom King, of course, goes to Khalid (a real-life Prom King, we hear). Conspicuously absent is evidence of any work being done, but like the track says, “What’s fun about commitment, when we have a life to live?”
Adding to the nostalgia are cameos by Dennis Haskins (Saved by the Bell), Kel Mitchell (Kenan & Kel), Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That), and Wayne Brady. Yeah, we might not be in high school anymore but we’re still young, dumb and broke, with love to give.
Khalid will be embarking on his first Australian tour in November, tickets go on sale 10 am Wednesday the 9th of August here!
By Lucy Li
Fetish – Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez released the music video for her recent single ‘Fetish’ and the creepy-cool vibes make for an unsettling watch.
Director Petra Collins depicts Gomez, barefoot and clad in a pale-yellow nightdress, walking through a quiet suburban street. So far, so normal. The horror movie vibes grow from there, as the singer enters a house and engages in a series of disturbing activities, eating soap, sucking on shards of glass and putting her tongue through an eyelash curler. ‘You got a fetish for my love,’ Selena sings as she crawls over a candlelit dinner table, in the pouring rain.
The 70’s-esque suburban neighbourhood in which ‘Fetish’ is set and Gomez’s possessed appearance gives off major Virgin Suicide vibes and roots the whole visual in the canon of horror movies.
By Charlie Hale
