Getting the “total package” with a musical release is rarer than you’d think.
Total package, in this case, means a great song setting impressive benchmarks for its aural, vocal, and lyrical content as well as presenting an outstanding music video that reinforces those elements. Alice the G00n’s “CYA” clears those goalposts with room to spare. The winning single from this singer and songwriter has enjoyed notable chart success by reaching #2 on Mediabase’s Independent Artist chart, and it isn’t difficult to hear why.
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The bass pulse at the song’s heart is enough to hang your hat on. It sets an irrepressible tempo mimicking the pulse-pounding action depicted in the video and physically connects with listeners. The ebb and flow of the arrangement positions “CYA” in such a way that it isn’t always bearing down on listeners. It supplies, instead, a compelling dynamic range that surges forward, pulls back, and then hits listeners again.
The video provides viewers with assorted breathers from the action. Much of the clip, however, is up in your face with action. Often, however, the camera work adopts a degree of distance while other moments zero in on the action. There’s an abundance of variety in the video’s camera work. Alice the G00n shows an astonishing level of development considering her status as a first-time director and much of that has to do with working with first-class industry professionals.
Behind-the-scenes wizards such as respected Stunt Coordinator Frank Trigg and Assistant Stunt Coordinator Samantha Epstein play an integral role in the video’s success. The brainchild remains Alice’s alone, but they help by shaping her vision to match the highest industry standards. Visual effects are critically important to the video’s success as well, and Special Effects Supervisor Ryan Senecal’s contributions are indispensable to the final outcome.
The study construction of the song is, of course, an important strength as well. There’s an inherent logic to the flow of “CYA” that the video plays off of, and the near-lockstep synchronicity of the music and footage packs a collective wallop. It’s impossible to not appreciate how each section of the single dovetails into the next, and Alice the G00n’s video direction aspires to and reaches the same lofty goal.
It’s a fresh and vigorous example of how the visual and musical can merge into a larger artistic statement. Each component of the performance stands on its own but, taken as one, the sum comes out far greater than its individual parts. Alice the G00n knew this going in. Her confidence in what she envisioned for the video and the wisdom she shows when choosing her collaborators are the foundation for a successful presentation.
We can expect more gems like this from her in the future. She strikes you as an artist more alert than ever to the possibilities of visuals and music working in tandem, and it’s difficult to imagine she won’t want to further explore her potential in this area. “CYA” is a rousing way to kick off that voyage, and it’s a video you won’t soon forget.
Cleopatra Patel