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Music Videos are a dying art form. With my childhood ego peaking at the moment of transition from Rorry’s Pop Party to the very grown up MTV, pretty much all my music consumption came hand in hand with an epic visual - whether that was Kelly Rowland texting on an excel spreadsheet on ‘Dilemma’ or Katy Perry squirting whipped cream from her tits on ‘California Gurls’.

Either way, I really do miss cranking that Soulja Boy in my living room with my brother, both our eyes glued to that TV screen.  Now with the big boy streaming platforms commanding music consumption, music videos have been put on the back burner and are very much overdue a revival in to the way we, the mainstream, listen to music.

The UK MVA shortlist has been announced and my gosh are there some gems on there! Although I do often prescribe to the philosophy of “awards shmawards”, I really do like the way the UK MVAs nominate the best of the best music vids - recognising exceptional talent in technical/craft categories and dividing the awards with a newcomer section, shouting out the underdogs who may not have the big boy resources and often are overlooked. Results will be announced at the ceremony on the 27th October - may the best man win!

Pressing Play wise, I will say September has been fairly dry for music videos, and still no sign of Renaissance visuals. If I die soon from severe heartache, Beyonce has blood on her hands. Here are Gigwise’s music video highlights and lowlights of September...

Kelela - Washed Away

Stripping it down to the elements, Kelela debuts her highly-anticipated return with an ethereal music video for ‘Washed Away’, packed with symbolism. As she removes her leather headdress, which resembles her former iconic braided hairstyle, she gazes into the distance in tattered clothing. She then bathes, washing away her former self, and appears later in pristine white garments and, jesus-style, walks on water. It’s giving reborn. The shots of the extraterrestrial landscape are stunning throughout, although sometimes a little too drone-heavy. The whole thing is a little reminiscent of a guided mediation or spa commercial, but the song is all about release and cleanse so I guess those are the intended vibes. A calming ease into the Kelela return and rebirth, one us Kelela stans have been waiting too long for. - 8/10

Mura Masa, Erika de Casier - e-motions

Mura Masa and Erika de Casier joined forces for the ultimate sad girl, crying-in-da-club banger ‘e-motions’ but the visuals did not do the audio justice. The video attempts some really interesting things to create a futurstic yet nostalgic vibe, including the set design of 3-d sets of metallic satin sheeted ocean that Erika rides through on a silver jet ski and the body projections onto the 2-d bedsheet; the costumes throughout, and the whole video being shot on 16mm. Overall, the delivery is just pretty dead and slow, bringing down the pace and energy of the banger itself. Sorry to be a hater y’all but this did disappoint. :( - 4/10

The 1975 - All I Need To Hear 

Following in the Arctic Monkeys footsteps with their latest videos, the 1975 are also complicit with this prematurely nostalgic approach to their visuals. Playing into the documentary-style, the video is introduced with black and white shots including ones of Matty Healy having a lil solo canoe trip in the lake surrounding Peter Gabriel’s iconic Real World studios. These are paired with audio layers of disjointed conversation of the frontman on the phone, reeling off loose existential thoughts about the band and creating art. It all starts becoming a bit cringe and on the nose until Matty breaks the illusion “none of this is real” pointing at the crew and cameras behind the scenes - self-aware king! The song begins and the rest of video takes place as a simple studio performance of ‘All I Need To Hear’ - it is pleasant to watch but pretty uneventful and lacking oomph. No harm in sprinkling a little chaos in there boys, perhaps something to link in the existentialism of the introduction. - 6/10

Kendrick Lamar - We Cry Together

Off the back of his epic latest album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, Kendrick has released short film for ‘We Cry Together’ and the scenes are exactly how you would expect them to look. The whole song is a domestic argument between Kendrick and Taylour Paige. In one take, the video follows this as it unfolds - mega toxicity and all. At the end, they close off the argument by doing the nasty on the couch, as the scene zooms out, revealing their apartment as a film set. I don’t really think the song needed a visual aid, sonically the powerful performance that unfolds throughout the song is strong enough on its own - unless the visuals can add new layers to this, which this short film doesn’t. Regardless of this, we love to see the girls fighting. - 7/10

Weyes Blood - It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody

Spooky season is upon us! Weyes Blood, in dress-up sailor mode, cabarets about an old theatre in a stoic, eery manner which at first, just seems a little stiff. Then you clock the scattered dead bodies, and jaws are dropped. In this end-of-the-world state, with the viewer questioning whether she killed them or not, she takes to the stage emotionless and carries on performing unbothered, with the occasional cameo from a bizarre cannibal cartoon IPhone dressed as a sailor too, chomping away on the bodies. Closing off with Disney Font credits, halloween came a month early with this video, and I’m not mad about it. - 8/10

Revisit last months Pressing Play

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More about: Pressing play