Sia Unveiled A Cage Battle With "Elastic Heart"

Maddie Ziegler is back! The child dancer of the iconic "Chandelier" music video isn't the sole star in the new Sia video for "Elastic Heart," though. The 12-year-old "Dance Moms" prodigy now shares the spotlight with 'Transformers' actor Shia Labeouf. The two will go on a cage battle with an extremely strong abusive lover-Satan figure and they just killed it.
The bubbling ballad "Elastic Heart," featured on Australian pop star Sia's re-release of her 2014 album "1000 Forms of Fear," is about finding love after enduring heartbreak and pain. With its syncopated drum beats and synth-tastic melodies, this Sia soared was a perfectly chaotic combination. Set inside what looks like an enormous birdcage, the eye-catching clip, was once again co-directed by Daniel Askill, sees burly, buff, and dirty LaBeouf interpretive birdcage fight with Ziegler as they perform a moving piece of interpretive dance.
What follows is confounding, but absorbing. After pacing across from one-another and busting out a few epileptic dance moves, the two crawl across the floor towards each other, and LaBeouf engages in an interpretive dance-fight with Lil Sia tossing LaBeouf around the cage like a rag doll. And once again, Ziegler reprises her role as Sia's diminutive stand-in-blonde bob, skin-colored leotard, and all. This time, she conveys an especially compelling sense of intensity, emotion, and grace. Overall, it's a mesmerizing viewing experience.

Zella Day lets love consume your 'Sweet Ophelia'

Meet Zella Day, a self-professed wild child from Arizona, who grew up covering legends like Elvis and Bob Dylan at her parents' coffee house, and who's being dubbed (somewhat misleadingly) as the "happier version of Lana Del Rey." While that's an impressive comparison for a 19-year-old, Day's songs of summers and ex-lovers are good enough to stand on their on, and Day is now ready to break out with her own material, starting with her breakout debut single "Sweet Ophelia."
"Sweet Ophelia," a blending of personal encounters in an eerie resemblance to that of Hamlet's Ophelia. Crunching drum machines and menacing electronics juxtapose Day's airy croons as she sings about the sanctity of physical connection, powerfully portraying both the majesty and fragility of letting love consume you. The eclectic and promising indie-pop track opens up with evocative synth chords and an unusual crunching drum sound. Day's falling melody drips through the verse before opening up to an anthemic chorus. The interesting arrangement includes layers of synths, thumb pianos, and strings, but the real focus is Day's haunting vocals native to her origins atop a contemporary throbbing, synth-backed foundation.
It's like some mystical California desert chant-turned-love ballad that never tries to pummel the listener or prove its epic might. Her Gianennio Salucci-directed clip may not have a narrative, as it keeping things simple we get plenty of her face, a flower opening, some writhing around in the back seat of a car, a bit of gentle dancing and of course, being a pop song, an earworm of a chorus. Day calls the video "simple and raw." Shot in an LA studio, the aesthetic was inspired by Day's style icons: Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot, and Bianca Jagger. There's no high art concept here, but we love the sexy sound and style of Zella Day. Perfect for 2015.

Meiko Pining After Desired Love In "Be Mine"

Meiko may have launched her journey as a singer-songwriter by playing small coffee shops in California, but her voice feels so cozy and sounds so familiar - like a long lost friend singing body swaying melodies at a beach bonfire, and with an international tour in the rearview and her just-released third full-length "Dear You," follows Meiko's acclaimed 2012 release "The Bright Side," which climbed to No.1 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart, as the buoyant hit single "Stuck on You" garnered the attention of influential tastemakers worldwide and found numerous placements in film and on television.
Fortunately for longtime fans, Meiko has maintained an affinity for honest, conversational lyrics. The eleven songs on "Dear You" consist primarily of her private, unsent letters. "I like writing letters: love letters, pissed-off letters, breakup letters," she said in a recent press statement. "Call me passive-aggressive, but it's easier to write someone a letter than actually confront them in person." While writing letters can be an outlet for overwhelming feelings, Meiko says she rarely sends them. Instead, she prefers to turn those feelings into songs, a process that became the basis for her "Dear You" album.

"Dear You"'s decidedly darker tone is, in many ways, the flipside to the sunnier disposition fans found on "The Bright Side." Longing, betrayal, heartbreak and reprisal are intimately acknowledged and explored here, supported by Meiko’s increasingly stripped down, sophisticated songwriting. Meiko professes, "It's not all candy and roses, but sometimes you just need the grit and that's exactly how I imagined 'Dear You' being completely confessional. It was good for my soul and I'm happy to finally let it out into the world."
"Be Mine," her new album's glistening first single, is an honest admission and plea to a lover. The mid-tempo, guitar-driven song with Meiko's crystalline sweet voice across the top. The song is a confessional track that finds her pining after desired love. "I take a sip of the bottle, it's my remedy," she sings. "And I know that it is a problem; I am dealing with it on the daily." Now, Meiko has released the music video for "Be Mine," and in it, Meiko says that the song is about needing a shag, since she was missing her long-distance boyfriend when she wrote it. We're lovin' her breathy-sexy-kitten-like voice.

Melanie Martinez enjoys the rides in "Carousel"

Meet Melanie Martinez, you may remember her from season three of The Voice where her creepy-cute covers made her the best part of Team Adam Levine. After she was eliminated during the show's semi-finals, the 19-year-old New York singer-songwriter spent a year putting together "Dollhouse," a five-song EP that perfectly showcases the sweetly sinister sound, featuring "Carousel," a haunting song that would be featured in the American Horror Story: Freak Show's hyped-up promos. The teenage photographer is known not only for her eerie voice, like she demonstrated her knack for haunting, searing lyrics on The Voice, but also for her eccentric style.
Fortunately, for Martinez, her creativity has not been stifled, as her dreamy/nightmarish pop anthem "Carousel," a spellbinding ditty has slowly been gaining ground on iTunes. At once inviting and vaguely sinister, the track neatly suits the trailer, putting Martinez's hushed, airy vocals between music-box chimes, calliope-like oompahs and plenty of shuddering electronics that update trip-hop, and now gets a brand new trippy, creepy, candy-colored and horrific carnival-themed music video which is a wild ride and nightmarishly cool.
The video directed by Adam Donald and shot at a carnival in Martinez's hometown of Long Island with ghosts, supernatural powers and touches of terror. The striking visual finds our bow-wearing heroine traipses through the popping lights and nightmarish landscape while enjoying the rides at a carnival. At the core, the song is about a former relationship, as you "go round and round like a horse on a carousel." But the resulting clip is chilling, and the singer ultimately becomes a victim of the fun and bound to that mechanical ride. She loses her dinner, and when the lights go out, she realizes it was just a tormented vision of her imagination.
The suitably spooky clip brings the love-song-gone-wrong's carousel metaphor to life. It begins with ghost-Martinez appearing in the middle of a darkened carnival which staffed entirely by nightmare people. Unfazed, she has some fun with a trippy mirror. Things get supernatural and she starts to fly and uses her powers of flight to follow a suspiciously hot carny around. But she takes a short break to play some creepy games with Nightmare Face, before she reunites with the Mr. Haunted Hottie by the carousel. However, things end poorly when Melanie gets a little lovesick.

Mikky Ekko Living In The Moment With "Smile"

We haven't heard much from Mikky Ekko since his "Stay" duet with Rihanna and his indie pop tune "Kids," but the singer, born John Stephen Suddath, seems poised for a pretty big breakthrough, thanks to a combination of buzz, genuine talent and the sort of expectations a Grammy nomination can set up. He's back with a new folk-pop single, "Smile." The lead single, off his upcoming debut album "Time," has an accompanying summery video that is the perfect summer send-off, sees Ekko and his on-screen girlfriend lying on a field, just passing the day smiling and cuddling and going back home on their roofless car at night time.
Discussing this gleaming soul-pop song "Smile," the Nashville-based electronic-pop/soul songster told SPIN that he was looking to capture "that moment when you're a teenager and you lose somebody for the first time and you don't know what to do about it," while marching forward to a stomp-along beat. In keeping with the onslaught of contradictory feelings that can grip a person in a time of loss, its big, buoyant chorus revolves around what is perhaps one of the most cynical-sounding lines he's ever pegged: "Smile, the worst is yet to come."
"Time will eventually knock on my door," Ekko sings, "and tell me I'm not needed around anymore." Foreboding! Filled with positive lyrics, the "Smile" clip had to go in line with this mood. Director Sarah Chatfield creates a similar feeling of emotional whiplash, tells a juxtaposed story, tossing and turning between idyllic scenes of Ekko snuggling up with a female love interest on a grassy hill and an ominous police scene. The bittersweet clip, both good and foreboding fresh.

As we see Ekko and his special lady friend in reverse chronological order through a pleasant, lazy day, with some ominous shots of the aftermath of a train-related car accident interspersed along the way. There are scenes too where Ekko is locked up in a windowless somber room and belts out the song chorus. He even "attempts" to cry. I guess this symbolizes the powerful love he feels for his girlfriend. How will it end? Will Ekko and his gal make it?! You've got to watch below to find out.

The 1975 Become Children Again in "Heart Out"

The 1975 have digressed a few decades to become children again and have have essentially copied them with kids playing the band on stage in the eerily familiar video for their new single "Heart Out," the final single and arguably one of the best tracks on English indie rock band's self-titled debut LP, which is a ruthlessly catchy and Accidentally Interesting album, quite possibly the most verse-chorus intensive pop-rock record since Andrew W.K.'s "I Get Wet."
Hailing from Manchester with successful hits like the ever-popular "Chocolate," The 1975 is becoming a more recognized indie-rock group with a growing fan base, and they are riding the hype train to the top. Frontman Matt Healy described his lyrics to The Guardian as "a genuine kind of diary." He added: "And that's the thing I'm really proud of in this album - it's me figuring myself out. Even the line in Heart Out - 'Your obsession with rocks and brown. And fu**ing the whole town...' I'm always talking about me, really."
The video begins in a bizarre, awkward fashion. As soon as it starts, the viewer is immediately transported to a middle school talent show. As one might expect from such an event, it all begins with a weird hip hop-dance performance by three young girls awkwardly with little rhythm and poor posture and some old dudes clapping, before a tween version of The 1975 take to the stage performing their recent single, much to the horror of the elderly onlookers. It's unique, almost creepy and a little bit weird, but that makes the whole ordeal that much more refreshing.
Receiving horrified stares from parents and adults in attendance, the clip comes to life through the excitement of a distinctly more youthful version of the band appearing in the show. The whole scene is put through the lens of their lofty dreams of becoming rock stars. They perform "Heart Out" in a cool, casual demeanor, and the youngsters don't seem to get distracted by the out-of-place spotlights, fog machines, and falling sparklers. Clearly unfazed by the fact that they're performing in a middle school auditorium, this version of The 1975 is everything a good rock group should be.

Betty Who stays joyful in "Somebody Loves You"

Betty Who has a new colorful music video out for her anthem "Somebody Loves You," and no, you don't just have a major case of déjà vu. The 22-year-old Australian singer-songwriter, born Jessica Anne Newham, has simply remade the clip for "Somebody Loves You," which originally got a less-polished video treatment back in 2013. If you're one of the 10 million people who have watched the Home Depot surprise gay marriage proposal on YouTube, then you're already familiar with her breakout song.
"'Somebody Loves You' was originally a breakup song for me. I had written it initially about this guy I was dating, and he didn’t care about me as much as I did. I was writing the song to him like, 'Wait, I love you so much and you're not listening to me.' When we went back to record it, it was way more joyous and fun. Once I figured out what I was doing in my relationship, it all kind of opened up," Betty explained. "The message is either 'you hurt me' or 'let's get down in the club.' I wanted to write a song that would make people feel happy and that's where 'Somebody Loves You' comes from."
Betty's known for earworm hooks, cardio-friendly production, and her stadium-filling voice. Now makes New York her home base as she prepares to conquer the world with her own special brand of fun breezy bubblegum pop. "'Somebody Loves You' has been in my life for so long that I wanted to start fresh in some way and make it new and exciting for myself and everyone who's been a fan of the song since it came out," Betty said via email. "I wanted to make a video that captures the energy of the message of the song, which is about having fun, being joyful, and loving yourself, as well as falling in and out of love with other people."
The newly unveiled take is an even brighter, bolder and bubblier journey, stays faithful to the infectious fun (not to mention retro styling) of the original but amps up the dance-party factor by, like, a buh-jillion, as Betty and her faithful crew sport a bunch of fierce lewks and bounce along to the sound of her euphoric jam on the sidewalk. If people in the '80s had social media and YouTube, this is probably what a mall aerobics class-organized flash mob would've looked like. Like her upcoming tour BFF Katy Perry's "This Is How We Do," it's an über-colorful, purely joyous trip.

Hilary Duff grabs her bikini in "Chasing The Sun"

Hilary Duff finally returned to the music business with the release of her long awaited comeback track, "Chasing the Sun," and its accompanying music video. "Chasing the Sun" is the first cut off of Duff's upcoming fifth studio album. Due out in the coming months, the record, has an "earthy, indie-pop vibe," will be the multihyphenate's first in seven years! Are you in serious need of a summer getaway? Well, cue up the 26-year-old's new video as Duff opts for some good, silly fun and spends her hours imagining herself in her beloved sun.
"I took a break from music for quite awhile, but it gave me the power to choose my next steps carefully and I'm really proud of the album I've made," Duff said of her comeback via a press release. "'Chasing The Sun' is a light and fun summer song that I hope helps people to feel a little more carefree." The upbeat, catchy tune, co-written by Colbie Caillat, has a beachy, summery lilt and tells you to go with the flow, live life to the fullest and all those other sun-soaked cliches. It shows a more mature side to the singer, without completely abandoning her roots.
Backed by a simple guitar strum, the breezy return to form recalls Metamorphosis-era HilDuff at her most earnest and summer-iest. As suggested in recent interviews, the reggae-infused, straight-outta-2003 song steers clear of the electronic/dance sound of 2007's "Dignity," instead diving into folkier-type territory. "I'm chasing the sun/ Won't miss out on the fun/ Gotta get it while our hearts are young," the former Lizzie McGuire actress repeatedly crooning across the cheerful pop track.
The sunny visuals for the single are equally bubbly. It shows Duff as a frustrated office worker who fantasizes about the outside world - a sunny getaway. her daydreaming takes her to a sandy beach where she frolics in a bikini while lying in the sand and getting a sun-screened rubdown from a hot male companion she spots in the pages of a magazine. Eventually, she begins to re-enact her daydreams in real life, causing havoc between the other office workers. After a freak accident almost leads to her throwing a hamster ball with the hamster in it, she ends up being fired and taking her stuff back home.

Bastille unveiled the haunting ballad "Oblivion"

Bastille have premiered a very beautifully haunting music video via MSN.com for their latest track, "Oblivion," the eighth and final single from the British quartet band's debut album "Bad Blood." The indie-rock ballad "Oblivion," is endlessly mysterious and now we have a perfect visual companion, which stars 18-year-old actress Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark in the HBO TV series "Game of Thrones," adapted from George R.R. Martin's novels.
Smith is a storyteller and a magnificent musician, and his music is a thrilling example of what great pop music can achieve. The beautiful part about "Bad Blood" is that it is both entirely predictable yet completely disarming. The exploration of any and all sounds; the delicate use of strings to heighten emotion, the touching piano-based "Oblivion." There are moments, instruments, timings, buried within his experimentation that take you entirely by surprise.
This is never more evident than in "Oblivion," which features little more than a piano and Smith sounding for all the world like he's standing in a desert staring at the night sky as he mournfully proclaims, "When oblivion is calling out your name/ You always take it further than I ever can." Smith and Bastille really deliver, ranging earworm choruses across the album. There's something 80s about the heart-swelling melodies of "Oblivion," but only because they evoke a-ha and Tears for Fears in their determination to be both catchy and muscular.
Beginning with Turner sitting in a room alone listening to "Flaws," a previous "Bad Blood" single, the Austin Peters-direvted clip follows Turner as she enters the middle of an empty rodeo arena. Going up to the microphone in front of an audience, Turner opens her mouth miming the lyrics to "Oblivion" and Smith's voice comes out before getting into her car to race at a very strange competition. It's a very simple video but the simple-ness really makes a good match with the deep ballad. the clip is a very simple and diverts from traditional "storytelling" and focuses more on provoking an emotional reaction, whatever that may be.

Catey Shaw croons "Brooklyn Girls" gone gritty

As a singer breaking into the business, going viral is typically an exciting time. But Virginia Beach native-turned-Brooklyn, N.Y. resident Catey Shaw might have a different attitude when it comes to her new "Brooklyn Girls" single that's quickly sweeping across the Internet. Entertainment Weekly calls it "the most hated song on the internet right now;" The Cut calls it "The anthem nobody wanted," while Gothamist says "This 'Brooklyn Girls' video will make you want to move back to Ohio." Shaw's music video for "Brooklyn Girls" has spread quickly.
Shaw channeled Katy Perry's "California Girls" to pen "Brooklyn Girls," an ode to the combat boots-wearing, Jay Z-adoring, brownstone-loving women across the East River. The indie pop hit's upbeat tempo and repetitive lyrics effortlessly loop like a merry-go-round tune, and this aggressively poppy pop song meant to capture the zeitgeist of the borough and stereotypes a certain type of Bushwick female with blue dip-dyed hair and contrived toughness, dancing in front of graffitied warehouses. If you love Shaw's sound, her upcoming record, "The Brooklyn EP," will be out on September 9.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Shaw described the beginning of her love affair with Brooklyn. "I landed in Brooklyn a little over year ago and immediately noticed a difference in the residents, as well as a difference in myself," she said. "It's undoubtedly part of the New York City from the movies, but has more of a neighborhood feel. If the city is four-on-the-floor, then Brooklyn is a syncopated kick drum. There's really just nothing like it." After she moved, the inspiration for the song came naturally.
Shaw knows all the cool, hip chicks reside in Brooklyn as she with blue, ombre locks hops around the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in her combat boots, playing her ukulele in a crop top and a Brooklyn Nets snapback. "Brooklyn girls, when they walk in, they rule the world. Brooklyn girls, tough and pretty, break the rules," the chorus continuously repeats as Shaw's video shows ladies with shaved heads, tattoos, piercings, while images of PBR and the romanticized L train flash in the background. But Shaw isn't actually singing about Brooklyn the place. She's singing about Brooklyn the adjective. She states: "The whole thing about a Brooklyn girl is you don't have to be from Brooklyn. It's more the whole idea of the strong female."

Broods keep it in family with "Mother & Father"

Releasing their haunting coming-of-age single, "Mother & Father" in earlier June, New Zealand siblings Georgia and Caleb Nott - also known as Broods - have now offered up the hypnotizing music video. It's a clip that is as spellbinding as the song itself. Shot in black and white, the visual shows flash close-ups of the angelic-faced duo as well as Georgia frivolously dancing to the song's profound melody.
New Zealand may be churning out a lot of pop stars this year (like Lorde!), but Broods has remained relatively low-key and musically different after releasing their self titled EP this past December. The Kiwi duo blissed us out with "Bridges" toward the end of 2013, followed it up with "Never Gonna Change" back in March, and now the brother-sister duo are keeping it in the family with newie familial track, "Mother & Father," the first taste of what's to come from their upcoming full length debut album, "Evergreen," out on August 22nd.
Nothing short of an emotional triumph, the melancholy new track speaks to the importance of family, which is understandable given the brother-sister bind that makes the Broods what it is. It's darkly menacing, but we still love our parents. On "Mother & Father," Broods sounds more comfortable and polished than ever. And it's a percussive, pulsing, electronic one, and a logical next step for the band. This tune will steal your heart with the stunning percussion and sentimental lyrics. This is truly the song to tug on those heart strings and send your mind careening into the warm sunset.
"Mother & Father" truly makes you want to hug singer Georgia. Prepare for a serious case of The Feels because it's strewn lyrically with the What Ifs we all combat in life. A low cry, synth-based beat trails along, creating perfect unison that is reminiscent of the brother-sister bond that created this band. Brother to Georgia and all round gun at musical instruments, Caleb makes sure "Mother & Father" is a robust ode to the synth. Broods keep things simple for their new "Mother & Father" video, but it fits perfectly with the dreamy, nostalgic quality of the single. Check out the video below, and prepare to be mesmerized.

Lykke Li wander an urban wasteland in 'gunshot'

And you thought your last breakup was tough? Lykke Li took her last breakup really, really badly. On the song "Gunshot," she compares a failed relationship to a bullet going through her head; for the track's brand-new music video, the Swedish singer dons some ghostly makeup and performs a parking lot mourning parade that ends with her face-down in the concrete, convulsing from imaginary gunshot wounds. The clip features some of the singer's most savage sentiments to date, and it is a stark and striking thing, and might be her most depressing music video ever.
Taken from her third album "I Never Learn," an onslaught of emotion about the ups and downs of twentysomething womanhood, this Greg Kurstin-produced searching power breakup ballad "Gunshot" finds an anguished Li longing to get her lover back. Speaking with NME, the Swedish songstress explained how the ending of a relationship had a major impact on the writing of her "I Never Learn" album. "I wrote 'Gunshot' straight after a meditation I had and the words just came out kind of violent words. So this is also the moment in, in a relationship where you've fucked up and some things you can never take back," Li says of the song. "I think that a lot of people can relate to that moment where it's just gone forever."
The 28-year-old Swedish singer has always been an artist's artist, establishing herself as more than a mere musician but an actual slave to some muse who only allows her to be creatively fueled at its whim. She has a reputation for being temperamental and difficult, but always those things in slavish devotion to best actualizing her art. In her latest music video for "Gunshot," Li finally lets her artistic side take over the visuals she creates. For the first time she is giving us a piece of performance art not based in any realistic depiction of the song or her actual persona.
Filmed in Paris and directed by Parisian duo Fleur and Manu, the clip finds Li in the middle of an urban wasteland. she looks like a wraith, with corpsepaint makeup and an ill-fitting trench coat, and she dances expressively across a burnt-out apocalyptic parking lot. There seems to be some kind of shantytown there, and she encounters colorful characters - bloodthirsty little kids, girls who seem to twerk compulsively, dirtbike trick riders - without seeming to notice any of them. Maybe the video is some kind of extended heartbreak metaphor, and maybe it all just looks cool. Either way, you can watch it below.

Foxes takes her time to liven up "Glorious" life

Foxes drops the creepy candy-coated music video for the title track to her debut album. The "Clarity" singer brings power and polish to her upbeat and danceable debut album about throwaway nights and wasted days, the foibles and rollercoasters of love, "love" and lurve, and swaps EDM for hammering tribal drums, dramatic orchestrations and powerful singing with genuine pop-gems with sun-baked choruses and enough bite to warrant repeated listens. For her new video, Foxes visits the town of Stepford - renamed by her to be the town of "Glorious," but the concept remains the same - shows us how the uppercrust lives.
Everything about this debut from Southampton singer-songwriter Louisa Rose Allen, better known as Foxes, strains to be huge. Though the album is formulaic and polished, there is enough crackle in its dark, lustrous soundscapes and tales of nocturnal romance to intrigue and Foxes' voice has the power to match those booming drums. It's been a long time coming, but Foxes has executed a surprisingly near-perfect album that remains cohesive without each song sounding like one another. Hitting the nail on the head, this album is very much a glorious effort.
Title track "Glorious," in short, is what it says on the tin. The melancholic faux-dubstep ballad truly stands out on the album and it's easy to see why the album shares its name with this song. Foxes' unique songwriting stands out yet again and also shows off her flare for writing a catchy melody. While it's impossible to fault "Glorious" in any way, it's best moment is the final minute where Foxes is joined by layer upon layer of backing vocals to belt out a heart wrenching lyric and melody combination to an epic crescendo.
Filmed in Spain, the retro-pastel clip about the glorious life at the country club finds Foxes at a summer dinner party surrounded by still people while she lounging poolside takes her time to liven up the party and sings over soaring instrumentals. The idea of animatronic, soulless suburban sprawl is artfully captured in these white-boarded houses and plush lawns. What is distressing is that our focal point, Foxes is hard to differentiate from the citizens of "Glorious," aside from her angst-filled lip synching. To call this country-club setting unsettling and sterile is definitely an understatement. It's simultaneously romantic and on the verge of social implosion.

Capital Cities Can't Wait For "One Minute More"

Capital Cities are back and get philosophical with a sorrow and joy collided new music video for their track "One Minute More," the first taken from the American indie alt-dance group's recently re-released deluxe edition of debut LP "In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery." The new song features some classic Capital Cities vocals and a piano sample worthy of RAC, himself. "I can't wait one minute more, the sun does shine" is the chant that echoes over sunny synths and tinkling keys. "One Minute More," is another stellar dance-pop tune with an effervescent chorus that rivals breakthrough smash "Safe And Sound."
In an interview thr band said about song: "'One Minute More' is a song that we had written a while back, it was going to end up on the album as well, it was one of the contenders, but we hadn't really completed it exactly to our standards, I guess, so we put out the album. As time passed we kept revisiting the song and we felt like it was a strong song and this felt like a good opportunity to finish it up and include it on a deluxe version of the album alongside some other cool tracks and remixes as well."
The video begins with the quote from Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran, "Joy and Sorrow are inseparable... Together they come and when one sits alone with you... Remember that the other is asleep upon your bed." Don't worry the song is quite the opposite of the visual message. If you've been following the video follies of Capital Cities and director Brewer then you know their collaboration can't possible just be a floating dock performance for the hottest Lake Havasu Spring Breakers ever. And it's not.
The video is something much more figurative. And the imagined party ends as quickly as a crying jag. As our favorite electro-pop duo explaied: "The video is really interesting and juxtaposes this very sad woman who is basically going through the process of a divorce. That sadness is contrasted by this group of twenty-somethings having a party on a lake with a bunch of watercraft. It is kind of a typical Capital Cities video where we try to show the dichotomy of a human existence: the good, the bad and the contract what defines the good and the bad."

Birdy has us seeing double in "Not About Angels"

As if "The Fault in Our Stars" didn't make fans weep enough in theaters, or if you still have any tears left after seeing the film, Birdy is out with an intimate music video for the super emotional ballad "Not For Angels," her contribution to the film's soundtrack. Featured at the end of the movie when Hazel leaves Gus' funeral and thankfully the new clip avoids footage from the movie - the sweet, sad song stands on its own. Though Birdy is still only 18-year-old, hearing her voice quiver through her own words is at once powerful and soothing.
Birdy contributed three three songs to soundtrack of blockbuster movie, but "Not About Angels" has connected with moviegoers the most with almost haunting mix of simple piano and vocals. The warm reception could have something to do with the fact that Birdy wrote it from the perspective of the characters in the film. In a recent interview, she revealed that this track was completely inspired by the film's storyline. "For the lyrics I was inspired by the way they speak to each other," Birdy says. "I was in tears when they read the book, and was so inspired by how the characters communicate."
The music supervisor Season Kent told The Huffington Post that the British singer was "so obsessed with the movie and the book." The song works because, as Kent said, "There's this whole back and forth that Gus and Hazel have about believing in God and believing in angels, and that's what her song is about: it's not about angels, it's about us." If you fancy a good cry, here's a couple of the lyrics for you: "We know full well there's just time, so is it wrong to toss this line? If your heart was full of love, could you give it up? 'Cause what about angels, they will come, they will go, make us special. Don't give me up..."
Given that "Not About Angels" is shaping up to be Birdy's much-deserved breakthrough hit in America, it was only a matter of time before it got a suitably moving video. Take in the beautiful simplicity of this video, which featuring Birdy belting the song at a baby grand piano with her reflection and a dazzling view of the Los Angeles cityscape behind her. Birdy's handwriting and floating notebook drawings bring the characters' tragic love in the film to life. That's really all you need for a song this subtle and beautiful.

Foster The People unveiled "Best Friend" video

It's been more than a hot minute since Foster The People's glossy single "Best Friend" was officially released as the second single off rock band's sophomore effort "Supermodel" in early March, but here we are at the cusp of summer and its accompanying model themed video has finally premiered and it shows the monstrous side of modeling with a multitude of gorgeous supermodels (appropriate, matches the album's titled) struggling with self-acceptance and willing to devour the attributes of her counterparts in order to achieve the "perfect" body.
This funked-up pop jam, struts with funk-ified guitars and crisp, lofty falsettos, finds Mark Foster singing: "When your best friend's all strung out, you do everything you can 'cause you're never gonna let it get him down." The Foster The People frontman explained that the line is not about drugs, but about his difficulty coming up with the lyric, "It's like your creative spirit, your best friend that you rely on is out of action." The accompanying video, however, infused a little haute in a classic horror-style and provides some commentary on how the fashion industry pressures women to feel what the 'perfect body' is.
In the Brewer-directed clip, we get a front-row seat to a truly frightening fashion show. It details one particular glamazon on the prowl for the perfect figure as this modelesque beauty laying on the couch, surrounded by pills and cigarettes that spell out "Best Friend." The model starts popping pills and putting on make-up in order to show up to a catwalk gig. After what looks like a mental breakdown gone maliciously magical in the bathroom, the model attacks another model asking if she's "OK" and the rival model disappears into a pile of bedazzled clothing. She then absorbs the sexiness of the model–including beauty mark. Monster model then becomes a couture killer, picking and choosing her favorite attributes–and murdering for them.
As Foster The People tell it, the clip is meant to address issues relating to body image and America's beauty obsession in a more jovial manner. It clearly shows the senselessness about yearning to be something more than are and escapism through drugs and delusion. "It's a commentary on the modeling industry and the fashion industry and the pressures women feel and girls feel every day," frontman told MTV. "It's a playful take on that; it's not too heavy handed." The end result is an eye-catching alien-like creature.

First Aid Kit keeping on with "My Silver Lining"

Swedish indie folk-pop duo First Aid Kit made big waves around the world in 2012 when haunting single "Wolf" caught the attention of indie bloggers and alternative radio stations. The Söderberg sisters Klara and Johanna are now gearing up to release their upcoming third LP, "Stay Gold," due June 10 and unveiled new summery video for sublime lead single/album opener "My Silver Lining," a song about finding yourself on the road, where the Soderberg sisters sing about voices calling and "keep on, keepin' on." It sounds simple enough, but that's what they do best: explore simple Americana notions through lush harmonies.

It's hard to image a more lush or evocative summer soundtrack than First Aid Kit's latest haunting country tune. Drenched in strings, "My Silver Lining" is true to the band's folk roots but their canvas is now a little broader musically and that chorus/those gorgeous harmonies could well find a home on pop radio. "It's a song about searching for a reason to keep on keeping on, to find that good that comes with the bad," the Americana-styled folk-harmonizing sisters explained in a press release about their brilliant folk-pop anthem. "We wanted to create a piece that was dark yet uplifting at the same time."
"My Silver Lining" marries disco, folk and a western twang for a distinctly vintage country swing vibe that seems to pay homage to both Harry Nilsson and Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac. Here, First Aid Kit further refine their blend of rootsy Americana, channeling their inner Johnny Cash over a mix of rumbling guitars and sweeping strings. While the orchestration lends a sense of grandiosity and romanticism, the siblings remain thoroughly connected to folk and country's core of straight-ahead heartache and forlorn, even amid somewhat more optimistic fare.
Filmed at the Paramour Mansion in Silver Lake, L.A. by Elliott Sellers, the visually lush clip followed by ghostly versions of themselves and their travels as the ornate mansion seems to come alive, doors open unexpectedly, dishes crash, summoning lightning with their hands and everything is a little hazy. It fits perfectly with unsteadying feel to the song's woozy, eerie Americana vibe. "We wanted to create an intriguing and mysterious world where everything is slightly off and the mansion slowly comes to life," said the sisters. "The idea of things in life changing, even scaring you, but still having to carrying on despite it all is a theme in the song, which we wanted to convey in the video."

The 1975 "Robbers" each other of happiness

The 1975 are aiming to go down in the annals of crime-duo history in their new video for their hit track "Robbers," the latest single off of Manchester band's achingly personal and deeply autobiographical self-titled debut album, which reached No.1 in the UK back in September. Their upbeat, electro pop-rock sound, coupled with personal lyrical meaning has already won them fans all over the country.
"Robbers," due for release on May 26th, is about two lovers who aren't good for each other. She's having second thoughts but they keep putting off the inevitable end of the relationship. In doing so they are robbing each other of happiness. This heart renching love story takes a bitter twist which, combined with the slowly building drama of the song, works incredibly well and showcases, yet again, how well The 1975 understand what they're doing. The power ballad is a calmer, sexier offering from the band, really the first of its kind on the album. Heavy reverb and harmony on the vocals reinforce the dark and deeply personal lyrics, further emphasised by frontman Matthew Healy's emotional, soaring voice.
It's a salutary reminder that if you time travel back to the 80s, you risk returning with Mr Mister and Cutting Crew spliced into your DNA. Strongly adhering to the band's admiration of their debut LP acting as a soundtrack, the video for "Robbers" tackles some dramatic elements, though set more in a realistic manner than the surreal "Settle Down." With a consistent string of stylistically impeccable and brilliantly moody videos, "Robbers" is thankfully no different from The 1975!
The Tim Mattia-directed clip was recorded in Liverpool's Motor Museum and finds Healy and his girl rob a shop at gunpoint to fund their alcohol and drug addiction.  "I got really obsessed with the idea behind Patricia Arquette's character in 'True Romance' when I was about 18," Healy said of the video's origins. "That craving for the bad boy in that film, it's so sexualized," he added. "It was something I was obsessed with. 'Robbers' is about a heist that goes wrong - I suppose you can read it as a metaphor - and a girl who's obsessed with her professional killer boyfriend. It's a romantic ideal." The clip positions The 1975 in rebel territory. Drugs, sex, violence and a Bonnie & Clyde love/crime story that ends with a bang.

Sky Ferreira goes thug life in "I Blame Myself"

Sky Ferreira gets in a pretty dangerous-looking area of Compton in a 90s gangsta rap-inspired stylish video for "I Blame Myself," with some help from online fashion retailer SSENSE, who styled her for the shoot. The fault-admitting track is the second single from the 21-year-old singer's debut album "Night Time, My Time," which Rolling Stone, The New Yorker or The Guardian had no trouble calling one of the best album of the last year. The new clip sees Ferreira plays with gender dynamics in gang culture, a context in which her punky pop has likely never been considered. The juxtaposition, as it turns out, speaks to a larger message about power and vulnerability.
After more than five years as a rising pop star, Ferreira must be used to her singles going underappreciated, and "I Blame Myself" was the most underappreciated track and arguably the best song off her already great debut album. Indebted less to '90s alt than the kind of sparkly, introspective pop that's not tied to any decade - like Ferreira's own "Everything Is Embarrassing" - it was both immediate and searing, sparing no fury for the intersection of condescension, sexualization and she encountered while churning through the major-label teen pop machine, while never being obvious. It goes right for the throat: of its targets, of its hooks.
Ferreira's searing, wounded synthpop anthem finds she singing: "How could you know what it feels like to fight the hounds of hell / You think you know me so well? / I blame, I blame myself... for my reputation." Ferreira's "I Blame Myself," is a ’90s-throwback, West Coast hip-hop look and feel that gets its power from its extreme vulnerability. The lyrics detail the frustration of being a face without a voice, with Ferreira ultimately taking responsibility for the way her actions have been misconstrued over the years. The song speaks to the icky truths we may not want to admit to ourselves, because we know we shouldn't take the blame and yet we still think that way.
Filmed in Compton by Grant Singer, the clip starts with a gang boss taking care of business. The singer appears as a kind of gang leader, called up to settle a dispute. There's the shots of her chilling on the hood of a car with her boys, riding along, and ultimately, all of them doing a choreographed dance routine that looks like something of a late-'90s boy-band video. As the video goes on, we see that Ferreira subsequently gets arrested and interrogated. It ends up approaching the same "wimpy pop star coming off as totally badass" vibe that Michael Jackson channeled in "Bad." Needless to say, it is great. We love the stylish-ness, the hair-tossing and the dance breakdowns! Watch it at SSENSE now.

Broods debut their gloomily romantic "Bridges"

New Zealand indie-pop brother-sister duo Broods (Caleb and Georgia Nott) take a sweet trip around town in their video for the breakthrough debut single "Bridges," first single taken from dreampop band's upcoming self-titled debut album, due out March 31. Now based in Auckland, Nelson siblings hook up with legendary producer Joel Little, who has helped launch Lorde to international acclaim and the comparisons with the Nott siblings are already being made. As a result, the production is similar to Lorde's downtempo, ambient alt-pop style, albeit with a slightly more heavy electronic pulse and fluttery Ellie Goulding/Imogen Heap-ish vocals from Georgia.
"Bridges," is a pop-indie crossover with introspective shades, piano, synth instrumentation and a strongly commercial chorus hook and seems destined for big things, both in New Zealand and offshore. The song, after many reviews in different websites, was dubbed as 'a potential world smash,' possibly because producer Little is also behind this New Zealand-native act too, and most certainly due to the greatness of the ballad, beautifully sung by Broods' female half, Georgia who provides amazingly sweet, expressive and distinctive vocals that ultimately creates the beauty in this track. There is nothing offensive or intrusive about any of this which is what makes "Bridges" such a breakthrough.
"And we're burning all the bridges down/Watching it all go down in flames," Goeorgia lightly coos above the heavenly production. "Bridges" already suggests heaps of promising things to come from the up-and-coming duo, and lends itself quite nicely to being played on repeat for all of eternity. The synth-pop track is simple, soft and enticing. There's something quintessentially pop about it, but it also sits on a split end, teetering toward a fall down the lavender bridge. It's the sound of riding in a black cab, and leaving someone behind in the pouring rain. Happy on the surface, but melancholic within the depths.
As for the official "Bridges" music video, which was shot in Copenhagen and directed by Jeppe Kolstrup. It's a melancholy tug of war between two young not-quite lovers with some stunning cinematography capturing Denmark's capital. The clip follows the day of two lovers in love as they explore the city streets, sit at a table by a ice-hockey rink and get wrestle-y on the carpet of a hallway floor. When the guy attempts to kiss the girl, things get ugly, though. What happened there? I thought they were in love.