Videology: Primal Scream – “2013″

“2013,” Primal Scream’s first single in five years, lightly condemns the frivolous passivity of its namesake year while managing to be one of its freshest videos. That’s the harsh aesthetic wake-up call we’ve come to expect from Bobby Gillespie and Co.: The Scream are notoriously adventurous videomakers, and it’s great to see they haven’t let their standards slip in an age of “will-this-do” LOLbait Youtube clips. The song – a strong comeback itself, and featuring awesome guitars from My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields – certainly deserved an aggressively innovative clip, a task the Scottish pioneers placed in the care of Barcelona artist Rei Nadal, who made a mark in the realm of conceptual digital art with her Tumblr, Death & Milk. For this video, she paired her obsessions with identity play (and its inherent self-monitoring), violence, nature vs. nature, and body modification. We aren’t into deconstructing a beautiful mystery, so we suggest you simply watch the full nine minute clip and absorb the exquisite terror for yourself. Recommended for those who found The Hunger Games’ art direction underrated. Primal Scream’s new album, More Light, is out May 6th.