Ten Rapid: Latest videos from Tom Vek, Wye Oak, David Lynch, Neneh Cherry and more

The soundtrack to your weekend from The Skinny, also featuring the return of Veruca Salt; the new single from Manic Street Preachers; smooth disco from Hercules & Love Affair; and Auteurs front-man Luke Haines

Feature | 02 May 2014

In this week's Ten Rapid playlist, we showcase videos from Brooklyn rockers The Hold Steady; Moby, remixing the title track from David Lynch's The Big Dream; Neneh Cherry collaborating with iconic fashion photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino; the return of 90s grunge-pop outfit Veruca Salt; new material from the Manic Street Preachers; neo-disco moves from Hercules & Love Affair, and a super-weird video from multi-instrumentalist Tom Vek. Elsewhere, Karen O. takes time off from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to cover I Shot The Sheriff with N.A.S.A.; Baltimore indie-rockers Wye Oak offer a meditation on the colour pink; and Luke Haines, legendarily grumpy front-man of The Auteurs returns with an animated video for Lou Reed Lou Reed. Let's get started!

We begin with Tom Vek – originally breaking through in 2001 on Tummy Touch Records, he has built a reputation as a forward thinking and restlessly experimental producer and songwriter, and on his new track Sherman (Animals in the Jungle), he plays with an urgent, post-punk bassline, shimmering guitars and bright synth stabs, against the backdrop of an arty video featuring flickering colours and cross-cut close-ups, achieving a psychedelic effect under the stewardship of director Paxi.

Reunited for a one-off Record Store Day release, grunge-era indie-pop mob Veruca Salt see their original roster- Nina Gordon, Louise Post, Steve Lack and Jim Shapiro – up to their old tricks, dissecting dysfunctional romance with a blast of sugar-sweet harmonies, and snarling, fuzzed-out guitars. The black and white video is directed by Gary Kordan

Neneh Cherry's Blank Project, which saw the influential 80s hip-hop and R 'n' B star collaborating with producer Four Tet and backing band Rocketnumbernine, was an undisputed triumph, earning itself a five-star review and the plaudit of Album of the Month in these very pages back in February. In the latest video to be taken from the release, she collaborates with French fashion photorapher and music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino, to stunning effect. 

Next up, LA hip-hop production unit N.A.S.A. offer up a slick animated promo from San Charoenchai for their collaboration with Yeah Yeah Yeahs front-woman Karen O., covering one of the quintissential Bob Marley tracks, I Shot The Sheriff. There's a Gorillaz-like feel to this clip, and it's a pretty decent stab at updating Marley's classic for the 21st century.

Brooklyn indie leading lights The Hold Steady return with a video for I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You, the first single from new album Teeth Dreams. It's a live offering, bringing a taste of their incendiary performance, which you can experience for yourself this weekend at Glasgow's in-the-city festival, Stag and Dagger.

Glory is the new single from Baltimore indie-folk duo Wye Oak (taken from latest LP Shriek, reviewed here), with directors Michael Patrick O'Leary and Ashley North Compton interpreting their driving, melodic track as an exploration of the colour pink – it features pink ballet shoes, pink tee-shirts, pink ice cream and pink-hued bursts of sunshine, creating a strangely restful mood. 

Next its the welcome return of arch miserablist and satirical genius Luke Haines, paying tribute to one of his heroes, the late, great Lou Reed. Haines was the front-man of critically-adored but under-appreciated 90s indie band The Auteurs, but his solo work is just as engaging and archly funny. If this serves as an introduction to the man's often overlooked ouevre, consider yourself welcome!

Manic Street Preachers follow up last year's somewhat mediocre Rewind The Film on 7 July with promising new album Futurology – shot in Berlin, the video for lead single Walk Me To The Bridge is a cinematic affair, with the band rocking out as a young woman races around the city, while a clock ticks ominously in the background. 

Hercules & Love Affair, the fêted project of New York DJ Andy Butler, has made him one of the undisputed kings of modern disco – signed to DFA, his combination of whip-smart songwriting and yearning, pulsing disco rhythms will make a welcome return when he unleashes new album The Feast of the Broken Heart on 26 May. John Grant of Czars joins him for this track, contributing a gorgeous vocal. The artfully choreographed black and white video comes courtesy of director David Wilsson.

We finish up with a video written and directed by globetrotting electronic musician Moby, created for his remix of the title track of the 2013 album by David Lynch, The Big Dream. Moby's pal Mindy Jones contributes a breathy, Julee Cruise-like vocal for the track, while Moby's skeletal, dream pop-influenced beats and flickering black and white cinematography provide the perfect accompaniment. Is there an element of quid-pro-quo here, given that Moby's breakthrough hit sampled the theme from Lynch's Twin Peaks? We would like to think so.

If you want to cue up the whole playlist, see below, or visit The Skinny's YouTube channel, where you'll find regular video premieres from the likes of Lady North, The Skull Defekts and Randolph's Leap, plus forthcoming exclusive live sessions from We Were Promised Jetpacks, Prides, and more. You can also check out past playlists on our website, under Ten Rapid.

http://youtube.com/theskinnymag