Welcome to FACT’s weekly video round-up.
As we note at the end of every year, music videos have never been better. But too often, music videos — along with documentaries, live sets and interview clips — get lost in the shuffle of news and new music.
With that in mind, FACT is doing what it does for mixes, mixtapes, vinyl and more: rounding up the internet’s best videos on a weekly basis. And to remove our bias, we won’t be including our own content — you’ll have to stay tuned to FACT TV for all your Against The Clock, FACT Freestyles and Confessions needs.
Read more: The 20 best music videos of 2015
BANKS
‘Fuck With Myself’
Dir: Philippa Price
BANKS’ self-love anthem is brought to life by designer-director Philippa Price. The singer-songwriter’s visage dominates the video, whether as a mannequin replicant, superimposed on the heads of her contortionist-dancers (in a move reminiscent of the Aphex masks in ‘Come To Daddy’) or burnt in effigy.
Abra
‘Crybaby’
Dir: Zaiba Jabbar
Abra turns an abandoned amusement park into a playground for young love. With its VHS filters, balance of kawaii and sinister and “darkwave duchess” aesthetic, it feels like an Awful version of Mariah Carey’s classic ‘Fantasy’ video.
The National and Lapsley
‘Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom’
Dir: Bento Box Entertainment
Bob’s Burgers is one of the best shows on television (animated or otherwise) and its music is a key part of its charm. Two indie acts make ‘Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom’ legit, and the video borrow’s Belcher-style animation, with The National’s Matt Berninger as Bob and Lapsley as Louise.
Young Thug
‘Memo’
Dir: Be EL Be
In case you didn’t get the memo, Young Thug delivers an animated edition of the “Slime Times”, details the heights of his excellent year so far, plays piano and leads a crew of equally out-there dancers in this highly stylized clip.
patten
‘Sonne’
Dir: Matilda Finn
Matilda Finn’s video for ‘Sonne’ distorts a familiar trope – hood-mounted footage – into an abstract parade of imagery as a leather-clad couple make their way through the urban underground.
Schoolboy Q
‘Black Thoughts’
Dir: Jack Begert & Dave Free of tHe little Homies
Q closes his Blank Face video trilogy with a courtroom daydream that turns a mansion into a prison (or is that the other way around) before he kisses his daughter goodbye to do his time.
M.I.A.
‘Go Off’
Dir: M.I.A.
After the maximalism of videos like ‘Bad Girls’ and ‘Borders’, M.I.A opts for something more abstract but just as effective: mining explosions and controlled demolitions, timed to the drops of this Skrillex and Blaqstarr-produced track.
YG
‘Still Brazy’
Dir: Jack Begert
While his video with AD made more headlines, YG’s minimalist ‘Still Brazy’ is more memorable. An all-white studio is the setting for a dance party that’s treated with freeze frame clone effects and red lighting (for extra paranoia).
Kelsey Lu
‘Empathy’
Dir: Griffin Frazen
A somber video for a somber song: the serenity of the sea is broken by a submerged body that sprouts flowers like a reef; eventually, an exploration of microscopic terrain gives way to the same sea.
PNL
‘J’suis QLF’
Dir: MESS and Kamerameha
French rap act PNL do summer right, enjoying a beachside paradise in Mexico on boats and on jet skis and in cabanas. The gorgeous wide shots make this one.
