Aldous Harding – “Zoo Eyes” Video
Earlier this year, the New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding released Designer, an album of tingly songs that she recorded with producer and PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish. And since the beginning of the year, Harding has been releasing some truly strange music videos. Her clips for “The Barrel” and “Fixture Picture” are among the most disquieting videos of the year, and they’re also among the best. Today, she’s got a new video for “Zoo Eyes,” and it’s just as subtly nightmare-inducing.
Harding and her regular collaborator Martin Sagadin co-directed the video for “Zoo Eyes,” the song about being confused in Dubai that might be the best track from Designer. In the clip, Harding walks across a gorgeous, fog-shrouded New Zealand mountain range, flanked by a ghost and a monster, wearing a clown costume. We also see her face — chalk-white, made up to look like a mime, or like Marilyn Manson — floating in a black void.
There’s probably some narrative justification for the sights of the “Zoo Eyes” video, but I can’t figure out what it is, and neither can you. Harding also has that David Lynch-type gift for staring into the camera long enough that it just feels wrong, for reasons you can’t quite articulate. Please enjoy the feeling of being ambiently creeped-out by the “Zoo Eyes” video. It’s below.
Designer is out now on 4AD.