Vote or Die: The Last VJ's Top Five Videos of the Week

Welcome back to The Last VJ, music fans. This week we get a look at a local boy's new act thanks to a music video filmed down in Mexico City. On tip of that, Baby Alpaca, who made one of the top 25 music videos of 2013 brings their A-game once again with a kind-trippy new work. It's all that and more.

Don't forget to vote at the end.

Reflection Dies, "Detox" In a big upset last week, the Helsinki metal act took the voting by storm and managed to carve out a place in the top. I still say "Detox" is cheesy as hell, but you can't fault the band for their sincerity or enthusiasm. Considering most metal acts think they can get by in music video form by playing in a wrecking yard and looking spooky it was a nice, narrative break that I enjoyed very much. Well done, you Nordic bastards.

George West, "You Know" Vik Montemayor has been cagey as hell whenever I've asked him why he left the rising local electronica act Bang Bangz, but whatever the reason was he's formed a new ambient groove-fest in George West. Fans of his previous work will feel right at home in the strange, analog throbbing that he creates there now.

Montemayor went all the way to Mexico City to shoot his debut music video with Marcelo Quinones, and it is something else all right. What's going on I'm sure I don't know, but we see Montemayor as an enigmatic tourist wandering in and out of the streets as strange festivals and revels play out around him. It's shot in a thoroughly retro style that enhances the uncanny nature of the project. If this is what George West is going to be giving us, I'll not mourn overmuch for Montemayor's absence from Bang Bangz.

REWIND: Last Week's Music Video Roundup

Tree feat. Beat Culture & Lena Kuhn, "Stuck Down the Wrong Rabbit Hole" The world does not really need more homages to Alice in Wonderland. Sure, it's a fun thing to do, but it's rare that someone manages to add something that hasn't really been down before. Rare, but not unheard of as seen here.

Tree and director Steve Dabal turn the classic idea of a traveler following a mysterious white rabbit into Wonderland on its long fluffy ear by having our hero be pursued by a sinister bunny deep within origami catacombs. It does take a while to get going, but if you're willing to invest three minutes into the viewing you will find a rather remarkable video that combines light pop with deep sinister unease.

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Saintseneca, "Happy Alone" Sometimes all it takes to make a really great music video is a good, simple idea. Christopher Good came up with a doozy for "Happy Alone," the story of a man trapped in an uncomfortable isolation, here represented by a large, semi-transparent bubble that encases his head. Think of it like Pyramid Head from Silent Hill mixed with Wayne Coyne, and you sort of get the idea. He wonders around a city living is life while he forever sits on the outside through self-enforced exile. It's a sad little cinemaudio play, but one you're going to like.

REWIND: Music Video Roundup From Two Weeks Ago

Baby Alpaca, "Sea of Dreams" Baby Alpaca always manages to really up the ante on psychedelic weirdness, and their latest offering is maybe their best yet. Front man Chris Kittrell paints a colorful abstract picture of the world behind ballet dancer Benji Staker dancing on Washington State's Whidbey Island. It's a hypnotic piece that drones you into a deeper level of consciousness while opening up your mind through the beautiful, soulful interpretative dance. It's another worthy entry for the band.

Jef has a new story, a tale of headless strippers and The Rolling Stones, available now in Broken Mirrors, Fractured Minds. You can also connect with him on Facebook.

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