Karmin explore the realm of sound in "Pulses"

The pop duo Karmin switches it up for the third visual for their new album title track "Pulses," just ahead of their very delayed debut full-length album release - a solid set of pop, rap and reggae songs. If you're familiar with this ongoing story, you know that this effort has been plagued by many delays, originally intended to be released in Q4 of 2012. The Boston engaged couple leaves behind the retro disco vibe of "I Want It All" on the album's title track - opting for an edgier mix of hip hop and pop that showcases Amy Heidemann's steady flow and Nick Noonan's vocal chops.
Judging from its long delayed full-length debut, Karmin can't quite decide whether it wants to fully embrace pop with extra cheese or comment on the genre ironically. The pop duo prove to be better at tweaking pop parameters than redefining them. The bright, thumping tracks offer flourishes of hip-hop, electro, disco and retro new-wave sources. About the album they said: "We want to call it Pulses because it's kind of like the honeymoon is over now. There's good and bad. It's not necessarily everything is happy-go-lucky tracks. There's also some serious stuff. There's definitely a lot more depth in it, which is something we've always felt we wanted to do."
But Heidemann's tongue-twisting rap delivery, clever in small doses, becomes exasperating with over-exposure. The new Video may still be the act's best medium: A Star Trek's George Takei-narrated clip for the title track improves it tremendously. The stylish pair always deliver memorable videos and "Pulses" is no exception. Largely filmed in black-and-white with the occasional splash of bold color that old-movie vibe, the clip begins with mock stock footage of scientists finding a way to visually represent sound before Noonan and Heidemann appear (shirtless and with a huge quiff, respectively) to do their thing with dancers and acrobats.
The scientists in the laboratory are studying cymatics, watching the visible representation of sound as it moves through water. They, of course, throw Karmin's newest album, "Pulses," on the record player, and the real fun begins. "Imagine how these pulses of sound might affect the human body and everything around us..." the duo jump right into the song, which features quite a bit of Noonan's vocals. Heidemann raps while Noonan provides the back up and parts of the chorus. As the song progresses, however, the beats are ramped up and color finds its way into the video, tinting it with the monochromatic colors we've come to see Karmin dressed in during the evolution of their debut album.

Lana Del Rey Frolics With Bikers In "Ride"

Lana Del Rey continues to evade definition with a new sprawling and cinematic video for her new single, "Ride," the lead single from the upcoming re-release of her debut album, "Born To Die: The Paradise Edition," due out on November 13. The epic 10-minute vision of what she says "Country America used to be," will either silence her critics forever, or just add flames to the fire. But, anyone with an open mind can't deny it's one of the most important works in popular music to come around in a long time.
"Ride" is a long, dreamy ballad that swells into full view during the chorus, composed in the indie pop, soul pop, and baroque pop genres. In the song, Del Rey sings over a string-drenched, piano-driven melody. The 26-year-old singer sings what she knows best: loneliness, some daddy issues and day-drinking. All of this is probably a metaphor for something, but honestly, we're still trying to figure out what those "Born To Die" tigers mean. "Ride" is more accomplished than Del Rey's previous endeavors, with the strengths of the track outshining the flaws.
The Antony Mandler-directed video told from the perspective of a character who stumbled across a disconcerting alternate meaning of true freedom. It opens with the now familiar image of Del Rey arching over a suspended tire swing against a desert cliffside, looking bored, or maybe meditative, or maybe sad, or maybe all of the above, as depicted on the single cover, and it's unclear how the tire swing is suspended, with no visible trees nearby. Del Rey amped up on the smokey vocals and narrates: "I was in the winter of my life and the men I met along the road were my only summer." Del Rey expresses how she found sanctuary through traveling, while on tour, because the singer had not had a proper home for a long time.
Following the confession, we see a shifting series of striking images of the singer, joyful on the back of a motorcycle, wandering around sketchy motel parking lots and fulfilling her dreams of a singer at a nightclub as her gang rolls down the highway; alone on the sidewalk outside a city convenience store; composed in a pretty white dress before a performance; back in the desert, wearing a novelty t-shirt, and wrapping herself in an American flag. The video certainly succeeds in crafting a wistful, ultimately lonely backdrop for song's melodrama. Indeed, it can also be seen as simply a continuation of the '60s nostalgia trip that Del Rey began with "National Anthem."