Shoegaze/Indie/Alternative/Psych Videos 2022
Whilst searching for a common thread to sew these videos together, I fell into a stimulated relaxation where a focused drift into hypnotic, expansive psychedelic waves merged with mutable colored visions and the raw ache from a stressful family holiday soon began to loosen its grip from my sad, anxious heart.
This shift in perception, or the opening of the mind, broke the learned limits of how things are supposed to be and gave the ability to see beyond, into the future where comfort and catharsis take hold. Bittersweet romance, an ordinary existence, and psychological disorders are some of the shared human experiences you will find in these songs/videos. I hope you all enjoy this playlist as much as I do. It was hard to pick only 12, but even in this trippy domain, boundaries must be set lest nothing be accomplished.
DISORIENTATIONS – “Watching You Go”
The Antwerp, Belgium-based Noisy Alt Rock/Punk trio, Disorientations, deliver a mesmeric cyber-trip video by Jonas Hollevoet for the urgently emotional single “Watching You Go” off the debut album “Memory Lanes”, via [PIAS] Recordings. The thoughtful, symbolic imagery syncs seamlessly with the soundtrack whilst guiding the watcher down a psychedelic highway of heartache and desire.
BLUE VOW – “Tombstone Eyes”
Blue Vow is the solo project of Cape Town-based singer-songwriter Chelsea Ann Peter whose evocative track “Tombstone Eyes”, from the debut album “Sunfall”, draws from roots music, sombre ambience, distorted guitars, feedback and psychedelia whilst a truly fantastic video by Ruan (Judy) Vos captures the stunning seashore panoramic of South Africa, shedding new light onto Einstein’s spooky theory of quantum entanglement.
HOUSE OF LIGHT – “Radiate”
House of Light is the kaleidoscopic musical collaboration between Justin de Vries (voice/guitar), Mark Kinchin (bass), and Chris Hughes (drums) whose tri-country identities (Australia, Berlin, US) lend a unique insight into the heady, metaphysical domain of the mind-expanding single/video “Radiate.”
SOUNDWIRE – “Satellite”
Soundwire is David Jones (bass), Chris Davies (guitar), Philip Stanton (drums), Peter Moore (guitar), and Simon Court (vocals), a stylish 5-piece Kraut/Psych/Noise Rock act from South Wales, UK whose rich, expansive, and groovy layered single, “Satellite” merges with surreal thought provoking visuals to open spatial dimensions of symbols and time.
BASNIA – “Photographs”
Basnia is the Dream Pop/Alternative Rock project of the Warsaw, Poland-based songwriter, lyricist, and vocalist Baśnia Lipińska whose collaboration with fellow musicians Adam Kaliszewski (guitar), Łukasz Zaorski-Sikora (bass), and Filip Onufry Jaremko (drums) builds striking dark ethereal and introspective realms around the beautifully tragic vocalizations in the dark soulful song “Photographs”, off the Sophomore 10-track LP “In Parts Messed Up.” The accompanied DIY video uses vintage, stained tints to transform a haunting wooded landscape around a ghostly woman (Baśnia) and her camera.
VAN GOOSE – “Snake Eyes”
Brooklyn, New York-based musician and composer Shlomi Lavie (Marcy Playground) AKA Van Goose joins with Eamon Lebow (guitars, saz, acoustic lap steel) and Dylan Keefe (Bass guitar) for the second single “Snake Eyes” taken from the Sophomore LP “Post Truth and Bird Feeders.” The off-kilter, narrative video by Shlomi and Adam Ben Cohen seamlessly syncs with the curious retro-60s hallucinations of the trippy paranoia-inducing soundtrack. For some extra thought provoking fun, check out “The Rabbit Hole Experience” at https://www.vangoose.com/.
SOLD ASH – “Puppy Runt”
Cape Town, South African producer and musician Ruan Vos leads the melodic Experimental/Noise Rock project of Sold Ash into the angsty, psychedelic-infused “Puppy Runt”, off the debut LP “Howl A Little Louder Just Don’t Spit In My Mouth” to seamlessly sync with the nervous stream of consciousness visuals directed by Joshua Stein and edited by Ines Soutschka. (Cult Wife)
LUNAR BIRD – “Venilia”
Lunar Bird is the Cardiff, Italy-based Art Pop Collective of Roberta Musillami and Eliseo Di Malto whose musical guests for the Dreamy Indie Pop reverie “Venilia” are Giuseppe Magagnino and Andrea Rizzo. The colorful, Wes Anderson-ish beach video by Eliseo Di Malto will stir the frozen winter soul with warm, serene seashore sentient sensations.
DIME LIFTERS – “Palm of My Hand”
Dime Lifters is an Experimental Pop friendship from Toronto whose unexpected sound blurs the lines between Alternative, Pop, and Ambient in the evocative track “Palm of My Hand”, taken from the debut album “Love Corrupted” via Tin Angel Records. The gripping self-directed video concocts a gritty drama around from the delinquent narrative lyrics. The lyrics were written while the duo were travelling in the French Alps and became stranded in a 100-year storm. A unique, unexpected sound that mesmerizes with cool modern “black sheep” vibes.
9-VOLT VELVET – “The Awe of You”
Based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama via Dallas, Texas, 9-Volt Velvet is a veteran Alternative Rock/Shoegaze/Noise Rock band who released two videos this year off the 5-track EP “Mirrors.” “The Awe of You” injects a fuzz and reverb-washed haunting love song into immersive 60s-strewn visuals, spliced with scary psychological moods, to send Halloween shivers down the spine.
SADFIELDS – “De Prisa”
The Mexico City-based Dark Shoegaze trio of Daniel Espinoza (Vocals and Guitar), Miguel Lara (Bass), and Erick Román (Drums) AKA Sadfields, evoke moving sentiments of trauma and transformation in the gripping psychological video, directed by Mauricio Saldaña, starring Streetfly, for the third single “De Prisa” off their much anticipated 2023 album “Superluna.”
SOFT ON CRIME – “Splendid Life”
A perfect way to end the list and the year is with the recollection of a “Splendid Life” from Dublin’s underground Rock ‘n Roll music scene is the Irish Psych Pop trio, Soft on Crime, whose imaginative video by Padraig O’Reilly captures the nostalgia and magic from the second single with thought-provoking illustrations and memories, off debut 12-track album “New Suite”, due out on February 2, 2023.
Thx for the good shout! We <3 WL//WH!
You’re welcome 9-Volt Velvet. We really enjoyed your music and visuals last year and can’t wait to see what you bring in 2023.