Feature by Ellie Garno
A lot of times, I associate music videos with being home “sick.” Like most kids, I used to really carpe diem out of missing school by watching bad TV all day. In the mornings, usually before a Dog the Bounty Hunter marathon, I watched music videos. I remember thinking not much of them, and that in this post-Making the Video day and age, most artists did not either. Then came the recent music video for “Shine A Light,” the new single from BANNERS.
In his second single since signing on to British mega giant Island Records, Liverpool native BANNERS searches for the light at the end of the tunnel. “It’s about being stuck on a rowboat in the middle of the ocean and looking for salvation,” says Mike Nelson, who performs as BANNERS. “Shine A Light,” which received early radio support from Californian alternative radio darlings KROQ and ALT 98.7 before making it on rotations elsewhere, is a sweeping force of lyricism and music. Notably, the song employs a range of percussive techniques to crescendo until each chorus—a vocal anthem with tribal textures (for fans of Bastille)—crashes and burns, oh so brightly.
The video, released earlier this month, is equally epic. Directed by Christopher Ransom and produced by Zebrafish Media, the video tells the simple story of a boy trying to get back a girl from her scythe-welding, Disney villain captors. The opening shot is of a motorcycle crash on an empty, rural road, at which our protagonist lies, unmoving. He then rises, throws off his leather jacket, and proceeds to sprint through the English countryside to steal back his girl in a chase that ends in dramatics at an abandoned warehouse. Hear “Shine A Light” and see the video for yourself here, and be sure to share your thoughts!
Filed under: feature friday, Features Tagged: banners, feature friday, island records, liverpool, shine a light
