Following the release of their genre-defying do-it-yourself debut, Monsters & Heroes, Shoun Shoun’s (‘shoon-shoon’) lead vocalist and guitarist Annette Berlin ventured out into the woods to direct the music video for ‘Sway with Me‘; a droning, fuzz-drenched art-punk experiment.
‘Sway with Me’ – one of many highlights from the Bristol-based four-piece’s psychedelic LP – shimmers in ethereal feedback, disorienting the listener with its soft-loud-soft dynamic. Opening with delicate lo-fi rhythm, Giuseppe La Rezza’s percussive groove and Ole Rudd’s infectious bass-line build to a crescendo of unpredictable post-punk noise. Piercing through its psychedelic melody, Boris Ming’s abrasive violin strings complements Berlin’s eccentric, distorted guitar riffs and evocative lyrics – “Feel your way through time and space.”
Created with the assistance of Adam Hillmann, Sam Wisternoff, and Caleb Bruce, Berlin’s gothic music video for ‘Sway with Me’ hearkens back to both the silent-era of German expressionism and the golden age of home video; a curiosity presented in scratched monochrome, broadcast decades later on cable TV, recorded onto VHS, and rediscovered during a midnight viewing of Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Like the track itself, Berlin’s visual language exemplifies the DIY ethos of the band, complementing Shoun Shoun’s idiosyncratic sound. ‘Sway with Me’ – or its German reprise as Monsters & Heroes closer ‘Schwing Mit Mir’ – is an experimental livewire shock to the senses. The perfect introduction to Shoun Shoun’s uncompromising ingenuity.
Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne
Get In Her Ears 
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