Holy Hunter of Music Videos 9
It might take a week or two to nail the name of this Danish four-piece, When the Saints Go Machine, without automatically defaulting to a similarly titled gospel hymn, but I say follow through if that happens. And if anyone asks, you’re rehearsing for the lead role in a prospective Godspell spinoff. The infectious title cut “Parix” is plucked from their second studio album Konkylie–or “conch shell” if you prefer (reaching so high for a Lord of the Flies reference here). At the helm of the accompanying video, director Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen and VFX artist Daniel De Vue team up to exhibit a truly unique and impressive visual style from beginning to end frame. De Vue’s commercial work is also astounding to say the least. Never have I ever felt the urge to share a Scandinavian home furnishing commercial with so many before. I’m not sorry, IKEA. Finally, I want to believe the main character’s t-shirt is a nod to Face/Off, and I’ll be the first to let you know where you can make one yours.
Don’t let the initial, deceptively animated contents within DyE’s “Fantasy” video fool you, as they are undoubtedly NSFW. But by all means, watch away if your higher-ups respond warmly to “shokushu goukan,” or simply ”tentacle erotica.” I’m not sure it helps my case if I confess that my invested interest in this gem is mostly visual, so let me also say that it calls back to one of STUDIO4°C‘s more adult shorts, and I’m nuts for their work (coughThunderCatsrebootcough). Directed and animated by the brilliant Jérémie Périn, we follow a group of predictably mischievous teens as they break into the local pool after hours. I’m positive there’s a PSA-like lesson to be learned in the end. However inchoate, breaking and entering is still a punishable crime. And you should allow thirty minutes post eating before you swim to prevent this from happening to you.
After that last doozy, I can’t think of a more suitable time to share Wild Flag’s latest on celluloid, the highly amusing video for “Electric Band.” Co-directors Lara Gallagher and Andrew Ellmaker (aka Hollerings) set the stage on a baseball field: it’s the bottom of the ninth with some of the hardest working women in rock pitted against a team of bears. Yep, bears. It sure is nice to see the latter diverting from their typically solitary ways. The track itself is a breezy highlight sung by Timony (formerly of Helium), and it’s from Wild Flag’s debut, self-titled album released earlier this year, if you’re into that sort of thing. And now we can all wait for the World Series to take a hint. It just needs more bears.
