Cory Graves
Check Out These New Music Videos From Natural Anthem, True Widow, Francine Thirteen And More.
Earlier this month, VH1 Classic was re-launched as MTV Classic, a channel whose intentions are to re-air programming from MTV’s glory days. That includes not only old Beavis and Butthead reruns, but actual music videos — something its main channel hasn’t done in forever.
Of course, regular MTV has also been teasing a return to focus on music performances and videos since the spring, when it announced it’d be reviving shows like Unplugged sometime in 2016.
On the local level, though, artists around North Texas never did give up on making quality music videos. In the past week alone no fewer than six local acts put out new clips to promote upcoming albums, each of which is well worth your time.
I mean, it takes so much effort to make a music video, and so little on your part just to give them a simple click.
Artist: Natural Anthem.
Song: “Gold and Green.”
Director: Marty Olivo.
What we’ve already said about this music: Well, nothing about this song specifically, because this is its premiere of sorts! But we were pretty big fans of Natural Anthem’s late 2014 debut EP.
What else you should know: Last week, we mentioned 13th Floor Music and Martin House Brewing’s new collaborative beer, which is intended to give shine to a dozen local bands or performers. In addition to the brew itself, each of the bands involved in the project is recording live sessions at Modern Electric Sound Recorders, much of which will be previously unreleased material. This one, for instance, is a tune off of Natural Anthem’s forthcoming record. ICYMI, GuideLive posted another video in the series last week from Matt Tedder, and there’s still plenty more to come in the next few weeks.
Artist: Caterpillars.
Song: “Vanish.”
Director: Stephen O’Sicky.
What we’ve already said about this music: “For a few weeks now, Caterpillars has been teasing the release of a follow-up to its 2013 debut LP, The Other Side, which was notable for its blend of indie rock and electronica. On July 4, the band released the album’s first single, which at least appears to have pretty much stripped away most, if not all, of the electronic focus in lieu of more straight-up, emo-leaning indie rock. I think they’re better for it, but what do I know, I’ve been listening to nothing but the new Blink 182 album for the past week — and un-ironically, at that.” — CG
What else you should know: Caterpillars’ second record, The Wicked and Wonderful officially comes out October 7.
Artist: True Widow.
Song: “Theurgist.”
Director: Mats Ek.
What we’ve already said about this music: “True Widow has a new full-length called AVVOLGERE coming out via Relapse on September 23. Like its predecessors, it hopes to help add a few new words to your vocabulary. For instance, ‘Entheogen’ is a word of Greek origin, meaning ‘a chemical substance, typically of plant origin, that is ingested to produce a non-ordinary state of consciousness for religious or spiritual purposes.’ Thanks True Widow!” — CG
What else you should know: Dating back to the mid-1600s, a theurgist was another word for “magician.” As for the song’s video, explains the band’s singer/guitarist in a press release: “We invited our friend Mats Ek over from Sweden to make a couple of videos for the new record. We wanted this one to be pretty simple. Just us playing the song with no storyline. As for making it something worth watching we wanted it to be psychedelic but in an organic way. We attached several prisms to the lens of the camera and put the camera on a spinning sculpture base. Mats took it home and lost his mind editing the footage with the instruction to make it as crazy as possible. He did good.” The band’s fourth record, Avvolgere (named after an Italian word meaning “to wind something around something”), comes out September 23 via Relapse.
Artist: Francine Thirteen.
Song: “Sovereign, Song of Auras.”
Director: Dom G Jones.
What we’ve already said about this music: “[Her latest project is] an eight-song, concept EP told from the perspective of four new characters she’s meticulously crafted. Each named Mary, these four women each see the world from vastly different viewpoints — the whore, the mother, the sister and the queen/wife — over the set of minimalist electronic beats that demand one’s full attention. Allegorizing the manner in which women shape and interact with society is the type of deeper territory that’s only made all the more compelling by Francine Thirteen’s delivery. This is music that, in many regards, is just way too interesting to dance to.” — CG
What else you should know: Per Noisey, which premiered the video, the song is “inspired by her fascination with women’s connection to the occult, the song explores this inextricable relationship through the multifaceted metaphor of blood. Whether it be tied to menstruation, fertility, lunar cycles, or DNA, the image is relentlessly invoked and doubly heightened by pulsating rhythms and jarring brass.”
Artist: Sarah Sellers.
Song: “Fuck It, It’s Alright.”
Director: Matthew Thornbury.
What we’ve already said about this music: We haven’t!
What else you should know: Sellers is a Richardson native that appeared on the 10th season of American Idol. But that was back in 2011. This song, in particular, represents the first output of her new songwriting team, which includes Jay Stolar. It’s about not letting life get you down, and all that. Just say “Fuck it,” y’know? Everything is alright. It really is.
Artist: Blixaboy.
Song: “Artic.”
Director: Wanz Dover.
What we’ve already said about this music: “Wanz Dover’s upcoming Blixaboy project. The complete package will be released exclusively on 12-inch vinyl via CPU Records on September 15. See, vinyl’s not dead. Nor is techno, it turns out.” — CG
What else you should know: The fifth Blixaboy record hits shelves next month, but you can stream a sampler of the album here and pre-order your vinyl copy here.