by Chelsea Moore
Cinematography by Elizaveta Luzina
Sound by Ilya Sonet
Film produced by Renee Moody
The theme of this song evoked a familiar feeling for me, which from the last song I posted about (“Not Your Space”) seems to be a recurring theme for this artist, pointing out the experiences and insecurities we all experience but maybe feel like we’re the only ones that do. The last song seemed to describe the pain of feeling your view of the world does not align with that of the people around you and feeling out of place and misunderstood.
This one alludes to feeling like people are feeding you a story and not the truth, wanting to see people’s real selves rather than what they tell you to your face which you know is fake. There’s a disparity of passion- you’re giving the world your raw self because it’s all you’ve got. You want that to be enough, and for people to see your potential, and in return, the world gives you fake smiles and empty compliments instead of honesty and constructive feedback. There’s a frustration seeing the potential for the world you could have, and looking around and seeing the world you do have, stifled by BS.
I was surprised at the style & setting of this video, which is different than the last video that was animated. The city setting and shots of bustling crowds in motion deepen the feeling of being alone in a crowd of people and trying not to lose yourself or what you know to be true.
While the last one with its wild and dynamic animation reminded me of “Take On Me” by A-Ha this one was reminiscent of the cinematography in “Thunder” from Imagine Dragons with its sweeping city shots, and the thunderous drum beats being played by the powerful and hard-hitting lyrics.
Again reminiscent of ID (or Sing by Travis which will cause any The Office fans to go “ohh” after the first few notes) is the one part of the video I’m not fond of, the noisy and confusing intro. I’m not a fan of intros to music videos that are either silent or cacophonous noises that aren’t the song. I know the radio edits trim out those intros to make an enjoyable music experience while listening on the go or streaming but as for looking up the video itself on Youtube or having it come up in a playlist, it causes an uncomfortable jolt in the flow of music.
But I can also see why an intro is necessary, in considering the music video by itself as an entire work of art, and not a cog in the song. It’s necessary to bring you into the story, to get you interested in what the lyrics will be, and understand or at least be a little prepared for the setting. While I have my issues with it, I don’t hate it as an artistic decision and I don’t think it detracts from the impact of the song, which I think is a powerful reflection of the thoughts & experiences of a generation and also really great and catchy music (seriously, not much moves me to actually bother creating space on my phone and here I am pushing cat videos onto my SD card to make room for this track).
“Somebody Else” is available on all major music platforms.
For more from Glass Hamlet, visit his website.
Chelsea is a mixed media artist and blogger who runs a blog about art, mental health, and autoimmune wellness. All the profits from her art sales & commissions go to mental health, LGBTQ+ and humanist charities.
Read more from Chelsea on her blog, We Earthbound Stars or follow her on Twitter or Instagram.
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