Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music savant Blood Orange, also known as Devonté Hynes, released a new music video for his song “Benzo” off his recently released album, Angel’s Pulse. The British musician created an eclectic video consisting of a gender-bending 1800’s European style performance. 

The video starts with the king of the court, who is a drama queen, impatiently waiting for the singer to arrive. The queen humorously complains about Hynes being late to perform as the court jester until he arrives in full makeup holding a cello in his hand. 

For the remaining part of the video, the singer plays the cello standing up while singing “Benzo.” The rest of the audience appears unamused as two members seem to have lost complete attention in the midst of a makeout session while the queen herself get distracted while being feed grapes. 

The song emulates a beautiful soul-drive 80’s love ballad that discusses the fear of rejection in a relationship. “Listen to the fears that you hear now (Oh yeah). Open the door, leave me with arms exposed, oh. Outside, I saw where I belong” Hynes sings. 

The background vocals harmonize perfectly with the singer’s voice as he leads into the chorus with a near falsetto tone backed by a soft sounding horn section, giving the song a true retro sound.

This year Blood Orange has performed at many festivals such as Coachella and Governors Ball. He also opened for Florence and the Machine on her North American tour. He will also be opening for Tyler, The Creator this fall on his tour celebrating the release of his latest album, IGOR. 

Photo Credit:  Sharon Alagna