There are a lot of videos coming out of Austin these days, so we’ve decided to make life easier for you by compiling some of the most notable into a recurring feature called Out of Focus.
Christeene “Butt Muscle (NSFW)”
If you thought Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” video wasn’t creepy and anally fixated enough, you’re in luck. Queen of Austin weirdness Christeene recently premiered “Butt Muscle,” a video that more than lives up to its title, looking like Caligula by way of H.R. Giger, and it features more kink and grime in its first five seconds than Trent Reznor has displayed in his entiree career. The track is essentially a filthy ode to ass play but Christeene and director Matt Lambert also work in fisting, golden showers, fuck machines, latex suits and some kind of human centipede situation involving hair instead of flesh. Peaches might get all the kink headlines, but with “Butt Muscle,” Christeene created the Citizen Kane of fetlife.
RetrOgRaDe “Tribal Bounce (ft. Clifton Dukes)”
On the much more wholesome end of the spectrum, RetrOgRaDe’s new clip “Tribal Bounce” is a colorful and jaunty vision that matches the cheerful and addictive single. Against a backdrop of random, neon imagery, RetrOgRaDe and Clifton Dukes get goofy. Director Tyler Russell works in surrealistic touches, like surprise cat cameos and frying pans and Talking Heads esque repeating figures, making for a lighthearted and lo-fi but irresistible old school video.
Soaked “Backseat Heat”
Soaked are one of Austin’s more promising garage acts, with a sound that nods to sunny California sounds more than Motor City grease. Unsurprisingly, that helped the band land on the roster of Burger Records and “Backseat Heat,” the first video to come out since that announcement, has the look and feel of something by California garage pop luminaries Girls. Showing off the slack charm of the band in their natural house party habitat, “Backseat Heat” isn’t necessarily unique but director Ima Leupp does successfully blend West Coast vibes and Richard Linklater Texarcana (though I’d suggest this video has more in common with Linklater’s Suburbia than Dazed and Confused). And I suspect that it will also leave more than a few viewers crushing on the Soaked lifestyle.
Nick Hanover got his degree from Disneyland, but he’s the last of the secret agents and he’s your man. Which is to say you can find his particular style of espionage here at Ovrld as well as Loser City, where he mostly writes about comics. You can also flip through his archives at Comics Bulletin, which he is formerly the Co-Managing Editor of, and Spectrum Culture, where he contributed literally hundreds of pieces for a few years. Or if you feel particularly adventurous, you can always witness his odd .gif battles with his friends and enemies on twitter: @Nick_Hanover
