Pop music is projecting a more political edge, after years of what some artists describe as apathy. It’s almost as if, generationally speaking, the atomic impact of governmental, environmental and societal eruptions of recent years are finally being replicated in grim and angst-ridden prophecies – from the eerie post-war atmosphere of Jamie xx’s recent Romain Gavras-directed video for Gosh, to Radiohead’s sinister Burn the Witch animation. With the exception of Fergie’s wearily provocative video for MILF$, the days of lazy, nude limbed titillation are temporarily fading.
The latest in line is Wild Beast’s Big Cat, a video set in a not-so-abstract dystopia, full of salacious sexuality, CCTV and the looming presence of a savage beast, which may or not be a metaphor for “The Man”. While the video is a combination of Karma Police and Paranoid Android, the song’s sound reflects the band’s more synthetic new direction: the Cumbrian group are far from the woodland splendours of former albums and now scuttling down alleys in the big, scary city. The urban foxes of the indie rock scene, perhaps.
“If Get My Bang was a song of the id then Big Cat is the ego,” says the band’s Hayden Thorpe. “It marked a breakthrough in the writing process for the album, defining the swagger and attitude that would come to shape [new album] Boy King. He is all powerful, but at what price?”
Watch the video below and let us know what you think.
- Boy King will be released on 5 August via Domino.
