When Sub Pop released Kyle Craft’s debut album, Dolls of Highland, in 2016, it received a slew of critical huzzahs for the Louisiana native’s Dylan-meets-Bowie retro glam stylings. His sophomore effort, Full Circle Nightmare, comes out early next year, and a video for the album’s song “The Rager” deftly interprets the sly, intricate wordplay of the tune.
Craft’s soaring tenor accompanies the bluesy acoustic folk of the music, while the video shows a down-on-her-luck lounge singer during her final, tragic performance in a dingy bar. Craft is at the bar with a group of his friends, and he seems to be the only one who cares about the singer’s fate. He represents us. Attempts to save her prove fruitless. Shot in a gritty, trippy, experimental style, the video does a great job of aping the style of the music – tragic, soulful, and exposing all imperfections. In other words: rock and roll.