If you’ve been listening to FBi these last few months then you more than likely would have heard the boppy, happy-go-lucky tunes of Sydney’s Big White. The band have have been on the up and up this year, their care free brand of new-wave inspired guitar pop is like a big, loveable golden retriever. They like to hang out, make new friends, bring an excited energy to everything they do and slobber all over your crotch. Okay that last one might be pushing the metaphor (and the truth), but you get the point, and it’s a point the band make clear in their video for You Know I Love You.
Are DIY music videos tacky? Hell no, and more bands are finding ways to make these simple videos awesome, just like You Know I Love You from Big White.
The band have a debut album ready to drop later this year, and have even been picked up to play at this year’s massive BIGSOUND gig up in Brissie in September. Heck, even the clip for You Know I Love You was premiered by UK music site Clash. Even more crazy is that NME featured them on their playlist of new music to check out. Not too shabby guys, all you need is to run your mouths off like old mate Noel Gallagher and you’ll be guaranteed NME coverage for life.
But we’re not here to talk about the follies of British music press. No, we’re here to talk about the clip for You Know I Love You, and it is a ripper. The rise and rise of the DIY video has been an interesting story to watch these last few years. Everyone knows that if you’re not one of the members of the Beyonce Z collective then being a muso means having a few holes in your wallet. It’s funny, ten years ago when pop-punk and emo were at the height of their power dominating the young rock scene their videos were these slick, professionally shot, high-concept clips. It was indicative of the music; bloated, self-indulgent and overly dramatic.
The DIY video we see nowadays represents the opposite of that. Sure it looks silly, but it feels genuine. The clip for You Know I Love You doesn’t try to be too clever or too ambitious. It is what it is; a self-directed, self-edited and self-affirming clip from one of Sydney’s most promising bands. We say self-affirming because that’s what the song is inherently about. It’s a straight forward confession of love. Not dramatic or shy, but a happy declaration because what is love if not happy?
The clip was directed by the band’s own Cody Munro Moore and he’s done a bang up job of capturing the band’s energy for the clip. It feels very much like we’ve been transported to the 80s, the colour scheme, the outfits and awkward dancing indicative of that time. But it’s not a detriment at all, in fact it feels like the band are just having fun at the house on a lazy Saturday. Sure some of the editing is a little clunky, but it fits the aesthetic nicely, right down to when Elmo Aoyama trips through the green screen at the end.
If the band brings this degree of personality, care and integrity they have with this clip to their debut album then a lot more people than NME will be putting Big White on their playlists, and we can’t wait to hear what they come up with.
