Sam Lynch‘s new single and video are something special. You can hear it and you can see it on the first watch of the clip above. Long into her songwriting career, the Vancouver singer-songwriter has found a magical soundscape on her latest track. “Not My Body” is fragile, powerful, and enrapturing in its projection of insecurities. The push and pull in every aspect of the melody, strings, synth, and distant percussion creates the in and out of body experience that the lyrics describe with a comforting elegance. Equally smooth and painful, the song builds effortlessly as each piece of the arrangement seeps in to support. Much like its clip, it really takes you for a ride with vulnerability at the wheel.
The video’s director, Lester Lyons-Hookam (who is also behind many of our favorite Peach Pit visuals), really nailed a suitably romanticized depiction of isolationism in a familiar setting. A late-night, streetlight-lined drive is an ideal cure for many kinds of loneliness. But, Lyons-Hookam makes the light it’s own character in the clip, giving and taking away the hope of passing through heartbreak as it illuminates and disappears from all the little things. Circuitously ending with a darker portrait of alienation, this video for “Not My Body” elevates the song to something even more transcendent.
It might be our favorite song/video of the year. Read another glowing review and more in-depth background from our friends at Various Small Flames here and purchase the track on Bandcamp here.
