5. Carnivores – “Second Impulse”
From the “Prom Night” 7″
Directed by Lee Tesche
There’s something about Carnivores’ music that has kept me from really latching on to It. At times it feels repetitive and belabored. But this video is something else entirely. Shot in a forest on the outskirts of London and also on the U.K. coast, “Second Impulse” has an eerie, spectral vibe that forms a nice contrast to the band’s hazy psych rock.
More Info:
Web: www.carnivoresmusic.com
Bandcamp: www.carnivores.bandcamp.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivoresatl
4. The Back Pockets – “Break Up Song”
From the album Fast Cloud Slow Cloud
Directed by Em Kempf and Bill Guzik
If there’s any band in this town that’s been lacking a great music video, it’s the Back Pockets. The band has spent a great deal of time and energy on developing an artfully visual approach to their music, and this stellar clip for “Break Up Song” seems to tie together the group’s abstract artiness and brazen sensuality in a way their stage shows never have.
More Info:
Bandcamp: www.thebackpockets.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBackPockets
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheBackPockets
3. Blair Crimmins & the Hookers – “State Hotel”
From the album State Hotel
Directed by Scott McKibben
If we were handing out an award for Best Editing, “State Hotel” would win hands down. Shot in New Orleans, Scott McKibben’s exquisite visual treatment manages to capture the beauty and vitality of the Crescent City while making sure to leave plenty of room for Blair Crimmins and his intoxicating ragtime jazz to shine.
More Info:
Web: www.blaircrimminsandthehookers.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/blaircrimmins
2. Lyonnais – “Dusted at Mount Sinai”
From the album Want for Wish for Nowhere
Directed by Lyonnais
How can something so simple be so menacing and forceful? That opening standoff between the viewer and Lyonnais drummer TJ Blake seems to linger for ages, becoming more bleak and disturbing with each passing moment. The remainder of the video is just as mesmerizing and unnerving, a gripping marriage of sound and image that will leave you transfixed.
More Info:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lyonnaisband
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lyonnaisband
1. Little Tybee – “Boxcar Fair”
From their upcoming full-length, due out this Spring
Directed by Brock Scott
Is it any mystery that the year’s best local video is also it’s most ambitious? Director Brock Scott and artist Tom Haney’s one-shot masterwork is a feast for the eyes and mind, a triumph of artistic vision and collaborative skill that lifts Little Tybee’s expansive chamber pop to stratospheric heights. In a year that saw several bands make grand statements, this is one of the grandest.
More Info:
Bandcamp: www.littletybee.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/littletybee
Twitter: www.twitter.com/littletybee
Did you see Slowriter’s 3 music videos?
Absolutely, Matt. The “Black Leaves” vid is my fave, but it didn’t quite make the cut.
I cannot help but agree with your top choice and putting the Back Pockets in the top five but I have to say I think the Goosebumps video from Methuzulah would have been a better choice. Comment readers should take a look at it here… http://latestdisgrace.com/2011/video-methuzulah-goosebumps …and judge for themselves. Jus’ sayin’
Honestly, Rube, it was a tossup. But while I really like “Goosebumps,” the stylized simplicity and stark color palette of “Sleeping Fist” is what puts it over the top for me.
Thanks for the shout out with Gun Party’s “possessions” vid. We are about to start filming with Video Rahim for some truly terrifying stuff….