Alice the G00n’s “CYA” is one of the best electronic pop singles I’ve heard in recent memory, and its new accompanying video is a perfect complement to this multidisciplinary artist’s free-ranging imagination. The single will be familiar to many already thanks to its #2
placement on Mediabase’s Top 40 Independent Artist chart, but it bears repeating that she’s crafted a complete track with the single that checks every lyrical, musical, and vocal box. It’s an evocative and moody piece that moves at a brisk pace and crackles with barely withheld energy. The tantalizing way it seems set to explode at any second yet never quite will keep listeners on the edge of their proverbial seats.
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Dynamics are a big reason for the song’s success. She enchants us with light and shadow as her critical eye glaring from the lyrics collides head-on with atmospheric synthesizer contributions. Alice’s voice is the undisputed center of the song but inhabits an equally bewitching musical landscape where suggestiveness exerts as much of a hold as outright musical fireworks.
The video keeps you watching to see what comes next. It achieves a delicious predictability as most viewers are experienced enough with this sort of fare that they will anticipate the next turn in the story. Watching Alice unfold it, however, holds particular thrills. It’s small decisions that add up to a lot for the clip. An example is choosing to dispense with red “blood” in favor of purple. It helps broaden the video’s appeal for those who might be otherwise turned off by a clip nearly awash in gore. It also adds an interesting color to footage bursting with stylish hues of almost every persuasion.
There’s plenty for the eye to devour. There’s enough story, as well, for viewers to sink their teeth into as we watch Alice systematically punch, kick, cut, and knife her way through multiple floors of an anonymous corporate high-rise. The visual effects are straightforward and reflect an outside-the-box mentality; some are drenched in dark humor, such as the brief shot of meat being chopped into shreds before shifting to a shot of Alice astride a crowd of office staff and hacking away with a sword.
Her supporting cast deserves kudos. They make excellent cannon fodder for Alice the G00n to plow her way through, and none of them attempt to grab any more of the spotlight than they should. Costuming/wardrobe is befitting the clip’s storyline, and it’s obvious that Alice and her collaborators never skimp on such affectations. Very little of the video appears to be filmed on location, it isn’t hard to imagine CGI and other visual effects play a critical role in the finished product, but the result is always stylish and believable.
Both the song and video alike are first-class all around. It is a shrewd move for Alice the G00n to take over the director’s chair for this clip rather than hiring an outsider for the role as it’s arguable anyone else could have interpreted her vision for the clip as well as she has. This is an obviously deeply personal song and requires that individual touch in the music video for it to be the success that both Alice and the songwriting deserve. She should pat herself on the back, give herself a round of applause, and look to the future with considerable anticipation.
Mindy McCall
