Industrial duo SKYND have shared their latest dark single and video, ‘Michelle Carter’.
Vocalist Skynd explains “This is unlike any of the other cases I have focused on. Crime has changed since the advent of smartphones. This is a very modern true crime case, the fact that there is a written record of everything that they wrote each other… This really helped me in the research phase, as I was able to use their actual words, because they were available to me.
“The quote, ‘Sometimes things happen and we never have the answer why’ – this really stuck with me, because I still don’t understand, and I’m not sure that anyone definitively does.”
Skynd adds on the accompanying music video, “The thought was to take this different kind of song, and make a different kind of video. It made sense to make this our first lyric video since this lends well to the case, due to the text messages as the focus. But we couldn’t simply make a lyric video, we had to do something special. We decided to go with light based on how Michelle Carter portrayed herself in court, relying on innocence and florals. White seems innocent, but if you have one bloodstain on a white surface, you can’t hide it.”
It’s 4PM on a Friday! This means it’s time for the music video roundup. If you’re new to either the blog or these music video roundup posts, this is how it works. Every week, I watch some of the best recently released music videos and compile them into a list for everyone’s viewing pleasure. They’re span across all the different genres, so expect something different for most of the tracks. First up are the electro-industrial duo fascinated by the world of both crime and serial killers. Their song ‘Jim Jones’ is named after the infamous cult leader, whom in 1978 committed a mass murder-suicide of 918 people after he forced his followers to consume cyanide-poisoned drinks.
On the track, Skynd has said:
“I always wanted to write about Jim Jones because I’ve long been fascinated by how easily people are manipulated when it comes to religion. It was interesting how people followed him while ignoring all of the facts to the contrary about who he truly was. We put the facts of the story into music. I was also intrigued by the audio tapes of him talking his followers into suicide, I knew I had to write about it.”
Next up are the first taste of a brand new band, Raiders. They’re made of former members of The Blackout (Sean Smith & James Davies), Ryan Lewis and Chris Davies (no relation to James).
Check out the first taste of the band in the form of ‘Wasting Away’ below.
Moving up to Manchester, in the form of the metal band Derange, they have a video for ‘Divide’ which is about dealing with toxic people and the situations in your life.
“‘Divide’ touches on the subject of being in a toxic environment with someone else. You’re exhausted, you’re aware how bad it is and you’re not yourself anymore. But you feel so attached by that someone that you feel like you can’t escape anymore.
Whilst difficult circumstances to be in, it sends a message of hope. It tells you can put your foot down, peel off that painful layer, and discover the superhuman in all of us that can overcome the tough encounters we endure.”
Mayday Parade may not be back on UK shores until Reading and Leeds festival in August but, until then we have a new music video from the band where the concept was thought up by none other than their drummer, Jake Bundrick.
“‘Never Sure’ always gave me a feeling of energy and it only seemed appropriate to make a video that not only included us performing live but also included behind the scenes footage of the band being ourselves while on tour. I remember seeing videos on Instagram of Chris’ work with Neck Deep, 3OH!3, and Don Broco, and I just knew he was the man for the job. It was an honor to work with him and I think he gave the song even more life in the form of a video. Enjoy!”
Next, they’re currently touring the US but the heavy hitters’ Spite have a very sinister video which is aptly named ‘The Root Of All Evil’ for us to enjoy.
Now, for a fan-favourite track. Nothing, Nowhere has had this on streaming services for a while but originally it was a secret track! It’s done in a one-take setting which has Joe Mulherin playing ‘Ornament’ while he also makes maple syrup. Random but interesting.
Now, I think Zac Farro (Paramore) has had enough of sitting behind the drumkit. His own side project, HalfNoise recently released a 60’s influenced video for ‘Who Could You Be’. In addition to this, Farro also directed the video for the track, saying:
“With the ‘Who Could You Be’ video, I wanted to capture the energy and immediacy of the song and also have the band be seen right away instead of having a concept that is too artistic and hard to understand. As the director, I wanted to showcase the performance of the song more than the lyrical meaning. The main goal was to make a classic video that you can watch a long time from now.”
With the release of their debut EP, ‘Ghost Like You’ out into the world, this video for ‘Find Away’ had the post-hardcore newcomers Captives see them address mental health.
On the track they said:
“This song means a lot to us as a band and if you relate to the lyrics, we hope you find strength in knowing you’re not alone and you can always find a way. Help break the stigma and let’s keep the conversation going.”
How about some more Post-hardcore for the penultimate video? Yeah? Well, in that case, we have ‘Divided’ by As Everything Unfolds. They’ve got some festival appearances this summer but had this for every to see which is their third single from their ‘Closure’ EP but as a bonus, the track features Sam Stolliday of TheCityIsOurs.
Lastly, on this week’s music video countdown, we have some undead madness from the Alex Gaskarth and Mark Hoppus super duo Simple Creatures. They’re currently on a high as they’ve recently released their debut EP as well as playing a few shows which acted as their first as a duo for its release.
And that’s it for another week of music video roundup. Don’t forget to check back next week at 4PM sharp for another countdown of ten of the best recent music videos to feast your eyes upon. There’s also new posts every day on the Almost anything Media so be sure to check out anything that might catch your eye.
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