The newest video from this indie group is two for the price of one. Find out which version you like better.
Most bands write an album and hook their fans in with a slow trickle of a couple of the best songs. Most bands make a music video for a few of these songs. Most bands make one video per song. Alt-J is not most bands.
Their new song “Every Other Freckle” has one version of a music video featuring primarily a naked man’s butt, while the other version features primarily a naked woman’s butt. How could you possibly go wrong with that demographic?
If the videos seem cheeky, they aren’t (well, aside from the literal cheeks). Instead, both are sincere and subtle representations of “Every Other Freckle.”
Each video begins with a slow-motion volcano explosion and goes on to share many of the same images with its sister video. A lone horse tramples through a dust cloud, a wave crashes against a rock and breaks into a foamy mist, a fluffy white cat tumbles in slow motion onto a plush red pillow and a snake snaps at the camera before recoiling. The images seem disjointed until you get to the second video, where everything starts to tie back in. Most of the images are from nature, with the exception of the man, woman and ancient human being wearing tattered furs and wielding a huge stick.
As if to mimic the stick-lugging caveman, both the man and woman in the videos run through a forest with their own “sticks,” except theirs have the sharp, serrated edge of an ax at the tip. The video director alludes to the biblical story of Adam and Eve through images of snakes and falling apples.
As the videos near their end, we see an ultra close-up shot of teeth clanking together and writhing pink tongues. Both videos cut to a black and white scene of a person slowly moving away from the camera, eyes shut and lips parsed, then lifting their eyelids gently. In the boy version, the story follows a man, and the final scene shows a woman slowly opening her eyes. In the girl version, it follows a woman, with the final scene being a man opening his eyes. By the time you get to the second video, it’s obvious that this is supposed to represent a kiss as seen by both perspectives.
These are two of many new videos alt-J has released this summer in anticipation of their new album. This Is All Yours will come out on September 22, and is available for pre-order now. They’ll also be on tour supporting the new record this fall.
Here’s the boy version of alt-J’s new video:
And here’s the girl version for the same song:
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