Ten Rapid: New videos from Cloud Nothings, Liars, Throwing Muses, LAW and more

A week in music videos, with Cloud Nothings having a girly sleepover, Liars in a geometric fantasy world, Throwing Muses on an animated quest, White Denim in a cowboy-themed GIF dance-off, and LAW defining the meaning of O.G.

Feature | 04 Apr 2014

This week we showcase new tracks from Ohio indie noiseniks Cloud Nothings, take a look at the new video from experimental punks-turned-ravers Liars, dip into some delicious bubblegum rock from Japan's Shonen Knife, take a look at Lost Map signings and rising stars Tuff Love and their magnificent haircuts, get dystopian with post-rockers Collapse Under The Empire, and check in with a few more darlings of the indie scene, such as Wye Oak, Slow Club and White Denim, before checking out the new video from 4AD indie veterans Throwing Muses. 

We kick off with the video for I'm Not Part of Me from Ohio indie kids Cloud Nothings. In our April issue, we spoke to Cloud Nothings founder Dylan Baldi, who told us: "I don’t like when people sleep in my bed." Hopefully, then, it's not Baldi's bed in this video; as a group of sparkle-eyed girls have a sleepover and play Guitar Hero.

Next up its Liars, and after travelling through a frightening, apocalyptic city overrun by rioters, they end up playing the stellar track Mess on a Mission on a set that looks like it was co-designed by David Lynch, MC Escher and The Goblin King from Labyrinth, while backdrops from the Egyptian pyramids to a giant festival stage flicker in and out. It's taken from their stellar new album, Mess

This month saw the welcome return of Japanese bubblegum punk rockers Shonen Knife, who unleashed their new album Overdrive. On the go since 1982, the band have released 20 albums in total. Their formula – ubblegum rock and pop meets Ramones-like brevity and intensity – hasn't varied much, but it's still just as compelling as it was when they released 1982's Minna Tanoshiku.  

Johnny Lynch's Lost Map continue to go from strength to strength, and with new signings Tuff Love, they seem to have struck indie-pop gold. The band are performing at a plethora of UK festivals this year, not least the ultra-exclusive Howlin' Fling party organised by their label, and at Wickerman's Solus Tent, so if you're out and about on the circuit this summer, chances are you can see them in action. In the meantime, bask in their carefully-coiffured charm in the video for Sweet Discontent.   

Next, experimental Austin, TX rockers White Denim return with new single At Night In Dreams. Taken from last year's beguiling and strange Corsicana Lemonade, the animated video sees the band dressed in cowboy getup, using silhouettes and collage techniques to animate a rather epic GIF-style dance party. It's directed by Brian K. Jones.

One artist we're keeping a close eye on – because she's sure to go on to global dominance before too long –is LAW, a close collaborator of Edinburgh alt.hip-hop mob Young Fathers, and a devastating live performer with a unique voice and a magnetic stage presence. She offers up a video for the track O.G. (Original Gangster), taken from the free EP Haters & Gangsters.

Next up it's Slow Club – this Sheffield duo, both incredibly talented multi-instrumentalists, first arrived in 2008 with the EP Let's Fall Back In Love. They have two albums under their belts now, with a third, Complete Surrender, on the way in July. Here, they present the new album's title track, with a string-assisted, bright pop sheen, and as always, the interplay between Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor is a joy to behold. Oh yeah – there's a cute cat in the video too.

Baltimore's Wye Oak are up next with The Tower, taken from the forthcoming Shriek. In a surprise twist, the band have abandoned the guitars on this album, in favour of a synth-pop sound which seems to suit them very well. In the video for The Tower, two decorators take a break from work to perform a choreographed dance routine, directed by Ben O'Brien.

As we approach the end of this week's Ten Rapid, it's time for a slab of brooding, post-metal darkness from Hamburg's Collapse Under The Empire. Their stunning video combines animation and live footage, travelling through a dystopian world of abandoned cities reclaimed by nature, dusty warehouses and sun-bleached post-apocalyptic landscapes.

We finish up with 80s/90s indie veterans Throwing Muses, the band that launched the career of Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly, and set the template for much of the seminal indie rock which found a home on 4AD during indie rock's golden age. The animated video for Clark's Nutcracker, from Jonathan Pound, tells a haunting tale of a man following a mysterious orb of light through a fantastical landscape. The track is taken from 2013's sprawling Purgatory / Paradise.

If you want to cue up the whole playlist, see below, or visit The Skinny's YouTube channel, where you'll find our recent coverage of the Scottish Showcase at SxSW, not to mention regular video premieres, and exclusive live sessions with the likes of Young FathersAidan Moffat & RM HubbertUbre Blanca, and more. 

http://youtube.com/theskinnymag