Foxes - "Holding onto Heaven" (Official Video)

Music video by Foxes performing Holding onto Heaven. (C) 2014 Sign Of The Times Limited under exclusive licence to Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited

Warpaint - "Disco//Very" and "Keep It Healthy" (Official Video)

To accompany their recent self-titled record, Warpaint has shared a video for two of its songs, "Disco// very" and "Keep It Healthy". It finds Warpaint dancing in the street and, as the sun goes down, meeting up with a pack of skater boys. Directed by Laban Pheidias, a former pro skateboarder, it features L.A. skaters Justin Eldridge, Patrick Melcher, Kris Markovich, Rob Smith, and Victor Zanoni.

Coldplay - “Magic” (Official Video)

“Magic,” the low-key first official single from Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, is so good that it inspired me to write an impassioned defense of the polarizing arena-rock balladeers. Now the song has a video from veteran director Jonas Åkerlund in which Chris Martin portrays both the levitating assistant and the drunken, famous, “moustachioed husband” of Cecile, “a beautiful young magicienne” portrayed by Zhang Ziyi. The bird from the album cover is hovering around too. Below, watch Martin and Martin square off for Cecile’s affections. Haters will at least enjoy the part that involves throwing knives at Martin.

Rick Ross - “Rich Is Gangsta” (Official Video)

Rick Ross is often on a mission to prove not only the magnitude of his richness but just how fantastic it is to have said magnitude of richness. In his new video for “Rich Is Gangsta,” we start off with an image of the Eiffel Tower before we’re treated to scenes of Ross decked out in all-Versace-everything, rapping into the camera, and nuzzling his face into his luxurious, fur-lined hood. This video is about Versace, being in Paris, and the fact that being rich is indeed gangsta.

Avicii – “Addicted To You (Avicii By Avicii)” Official Video

Avicii – “Addicted To You (Avicii By Avicii)” (Dir. Keshen8)

So Lego people bleed blue. I feel like that explains a lot. And if Lego Batman can be one of the year’s biggest movie stars, then I think we’re all ready for Lego Dolph Lundgren.

Watch A Short Film Inspired And Soundtracked By The Body’s I Shall Die Here

A film by Jason Evans
Starring Todd Schrock
Cinematography by Alexandra Stergiou
Produced by Andre Wiesmayr & Jordan Redaelli
Edited by Jason Evans & Alexandra Stergiou
Production Design by Jordan Redaelli
Music by The Body
Music Produced by The Haxan Cloak
Additional Sound by Matt Snedecor
Color by Roman Hankewycz at Harbor Picture Company

Experimental metal duo the Body’s new album, I Shall Die Here, is the darkest thing they’ve recorded. That’s in part because they teamed up with electronic/drone/nightmare producer the Haxan Cloak (Bobby Krlic), and if there’s one thing these two forces do really well it’s making music that sounds like dying — just listen to their explosive “Hail To Thee, Everlasting Pain.” The album recently inspired filmmaker Jason Evans to make the short At The Mercy Of It All, which is soundtracked by music from that album. It follows a bearded, weary man living in a cabin (as he records an album, and eventually works with Kanye … just kidding!) in complete isolation, as he looks over photos, old pages, and maps. It’s unclear at times whether the man is trying to let go of or cling to some part of his past, but as a storm builds outside, the music fills each methodical action with unbearable tension and terror.

Hooray For Earth - "Racy" (Official Album Trailer)

In anticipation of their new album, Racy, Hooray For Earth have released an album trailer. The trailer features some epic slow-motion footage of Noel Heroux and Co. performing in what looks to be a dank basement. Constantly shifting camera angles give a sense of vertigo while faces caught in the cathartic release of rock and roll exude elation and anticipation.

Pure X "Heaven" (Official Video)

The laid-back Austin psych band Pure X released their Angel LP earlier this week, and today they’ve shared the video for the warm, amber-hued jam “Heaven.” Director Ben Kitnick’s video starts off as a prettily shot meditation on farm life and carnivals, but after the demolition derby, things turn dark and disturbing. Watch it below, but be warned: The final shots have some deeply fucked-up images.

The Shoe - “Dead Rabbit Hopes” Official Video (NSFW)

Actress Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, Into The Wild, Sucker Punch) was recently seen on screen as brazenly rebellious District 7 tribute Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. In the movie, her character notoriously dropped the F-bomb on live TV, but Malone’s new music video is explicit in a different way. Malone, who records with Lem Jay Ignacio under the name the Shoe, is almost entirely naked in the clip for “Dead Rabbit Hopes,” a winsome twee-inflected ballad from the duo’s upcoming album I’m Okay. Director Alia Penner brought to life a vision of the human body’s beauty as explained here by Malone:

I wanted to talk about a woman’s beauty and sexuality in a way that felt very different from our highly manipulated and sexualized world. I actually wanted to desexualize my own naked body while upholding its own perfect eternal grace. I didn’t want it to be about lingerie or booty shorts. I wanted it to be about the work of art that you are born with.

Hamilton Leithauser - “11 O’Clock Friday Night” (Official Video)

The (former?) Walkmen frontman Hamilton Leithauser is getting ready for teh release of Black Hours, his debut solo album, and he’s already shared his video for the Rotsam Batmanglij-produced first single “Alexandra.” He’s now followed that one up with an inky, low-key clip for “11 O’Clock Friday Night,” an album track that we’re hearing for the first time now. The song has some of that elegantly rumpled Walkmen majesty, except with some added percussive flourishes, and Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman adds some barely-there backing vocals. Walkmen guitarist Paul Maroon, who’s also playing in Leithauser’s band at his forthcoming live shows, directed the video, in which Leithauser bikes around New Orleans at night.

Sharon Van Etten - “Taking Chances” (Official Video)

When Sharon Van Etten released “Taking Chances,” the lead single from her upcoming Are We There, Tom noted that it was smoother and more accessible than the dark and brooding SVE joints we’ve come to expect. The video weirds things up a bit, though, by remaking the opening sequence from the 1962 Agnes Varda film Cleo From 5 To 7 with Van Etten standing in for Varda. Here’s director Michael Palmieri’s statement on the pleasant coincidence that cemented the concept:

SVE contacted me a few months back to see if I’d like to come up with some ideas for “Taking Chances,” her first single off the new record. When I first heard the song the lyrics immediately made me think about the opening sequence to the great Agnes Varda film Cleo From 5 To 7, one of my favorites. I usually mull over ideas for days or weeks before coming up with anything decent to share with an artist, but this one just came out immediately. I sent a sketch of the idea onto Sharon and Zeke Hutchins, her manager, then I didn’t hear back from them for over a week, at which point I thought, well, damn, they must hate the idea, I blew it! But soon Zeke contacted me and asked if Sharon had sent me the album artwork. I said, no, I haven’t even heard anything else off the album yet, let alone seen anything from it. Sharon then texted me pretty much the same question, “Did Zeke send you the album before you wrote this?” Nope. I didn’t understand what the big deal was.

Finally they sent me a photograph that’s a big component of the album artwork, it’s this beautiful aged picture of Agnes Varda standing in front of a bazillion reels of 16mm film. This image of one of my filmmaking heroes has been hanging on Sharon’s wall wherever she’s lived for years and years to the point where it’s all tattered and weather-worn. I like to think that Ms. Varda is standing in front of a bunch of reels from Cleo from 5 to 7, but who knows. It’s just one of the strangest coincidences, and it made us all feel like the video had to be made. So now I can safely say the video is inspired by two incredible women: Sharon, for her musical inspiration, and Agnes Varda, whose inspiration on the both of us is quite apparent.

Throwing Muses - “Clark’s Nutcracker” (Official Video)

Throwing Muses returned last year with the enormous 32-track album/art book, Purgatory/Paradise, in classic form on tracks like “sleepwalking-1” and “Sunray Venus.” Now they have a video for the track “Clark’s Nutcracker,” with animation by Jonathan Pound, which tells the abstract story of a man following a glowing ball of light. The animation moves with a surreal fluidity that grows more fascinating as the story eventually reaches its colorful climax.

Tacocat - “Hey Girl” (Official Video)

The Seattle punk band Tacocat (whose member Bree McKenna also plays in Childbirth) put out their new album NVM recently, and with directors Eric J. Olson and James Smith they now have this very funny, striking video. Cut-out figures that resemble animated paper dolls perfectly visualize “Hey Girl,” their funny, sarcastic attack on that repulsive creature: the catcalling asshole. The characters described in the song appear here as gaping troglodytes, while the main character skates by leaving them all in the dust.

PUP - “Lionheart” (Official Video)

Time-lapse videos are pretty common and gimmicky, but Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux has made one for Band To Watch PUP’s world-beating single “Lionheart” that makes perfect sense. In a single sped-up shot, the still camera captures over 4 hours of a drunken basement party. Frontman Stefan Babcock plays “Edward Forty Hands” for most of it, beers are shotgunned, bongs are hit, kegs stands are conquered, and the night ends in fireworks and puke. It condenses an entire night of excitement and joy into an impossibly short runtime, which is pretty much what “Lionheart” does, too.

Mirror Kisses - “Genius” (Official Video)

You may have seen Mirror Kisses’ 2013 album, Heartbeats, in the photo of SAINT PEPSI at the top of our Band To Watch feature on that artist. SP’s fandom was understandable, because that album is the best encapsulation yet of singer/producer George Clanton’s glam-star-via-chillwave style. The new video for Heartbeats’ centerpiece, “Genius,” blends clips of two people painting a stark mural with footage of Clanton performing at a house show in DC, which gives you a glimpse of how intense and cathartic the guy’s performances are.

Classixx - “A Stranger Love” (Official Video)

California duo Classixx took a break from remixing last year to release the very enjoyable Hanging Gardens, but the videos from that album have been truly excellent so far. First there was the lavish “All You’re Waiting For,” featuring Nancy Whang being a supreme badass on a yacht, and now director Jordan Michael Blake has made something even more eye-catching for “A Stranger Love.” The lushly romantic song soundtracks a young couple as they spend a night running through an eerily empty Los Angeles, having strange adventures. The moments of genuine sweetness (the pool) are paired with surreal images (the bed in the basketball court) and brief creepy moments, but the whole thing is so wonderfully shot that everything flows with its own logic.

Oliver Wilde - “Play And Be Saved” (Offiicial Video)

When Oliver Wilde’s “Play And Be Saved” premiered here last month, I called it “a glorious phantasmagoria that hits hard and effervesces brightly.” The video, though, is a study in muted tones. A rotating camera captures Wilde and his band and broadcasts them through a shroud of haze not unlike the cover of Loveless. It’s directed by Lucas Wilde.

De Lux - “It All Works All The Time” Official Video (NSFW)

Last time we checked in with L.A. disco-poppers De Lux, they were racing ahead at rocket speed as if they had just snorted Pixy Stix. This time the only perceivable substance abuse is by a famous cartoon character. “It Works All The Time” offers up a different side of Voyage, De Lux’s forthcoming Innovative Leisure debut. The pairing of a touchy-feely mid-tempo funk groove with uptight nasal crooning registers instantly as Talking Heads fanboy status put to good use, but the video is about as far from Stop Making Sense’s joyous reverie as you can get. Written and animated by Nick Walker, the clip features what appears to be Felix The Cat going on a rampage of racy behavior that includes cocaine, prostitutes, prison fights and more.