Rainer - “Nocturn” (Official Video)

Singer Rebekah Raa and producer Nic Nell (aka Casually Here) make brooding, R&B-inflected electronic pop under the name Rainer. The London duo are releasing their debut full-length next month, and today, they’re sharing a new video for its excellent lead single “Nocturn.” Directed by Alexander Brown of the London film collective The Sweet Shop, the clip tells the story of a dancer who’s forced to give up dancing due to a medical condition. Dancing usually makes for a decently engaging music video, and this one is no exception. But the narrative grants it some welcome emotional heft, and the lead actress imbues her performance with a visceral physicality — plus, she’s got a terrifically tragic dead-eyed stare. Towards the end, the video thaws from slow motion and cool gray undersaturation into a frenetically edited collage of dancing and kaleidoscopic visuals, and it feels like an earned catharsis.