Review: Snobby Little Elf
Cover of "Diamonds & Studs"
Cover of Diamonds & Studs

I suppose it was nigh inevitable that I’d post about the new Morningwood video — after all, I love music and I love animation. I’ve also been a fan of Morningwood since the debut record — and I’m happy to report that Diamonds & Studs is just as good, if not better than that album. Power pop is one of those genres that, like improv, is either the best thing in the world or the worst. Luckily, Morningwood is the former.

The new video was directed by Chantal Claret, the voice of the band/co-writer of all their songs. In the “making-of” video, she mentions that part of the trouble in doing things is finding folks who can help out — so by doing a video all by herself, she gets around that problem. She’d also had a dream about doing a claymation video, so, well, she killed two birds with one stone, and quite well.

The imagery in the video, particularly on the second verse, strikes a great balance of cutesy and dark.  It’s a very smart, enjoyable video.  I believe this is the first video Claret has directed, but she’s definitely got a knack for film and how to visually tell a story, particularly on a small budget and non-existent crew!

Claret might not be the next Will Vinton, but she does a really good job, particularly for someone who taught herself the artform. The worst you could say is that she’s a very talented amateur. And, well, considering that her main gig is split between doing a really awesome band and designing clothing, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d agree — and she’s not an amateur at those jobs, so I figure it all works out.

“Snobby Little Elf” is the third video from Diamonds & Studs, but it’s my favorite. Check it out here:

And, if you’re curious, here’s the making-of documentary:

And, if you’re curious, the other D&S videos — “Sugarbaby

and “Best Of Me”:

And, just because it’s one of my favorite music videos, the super clever video for “Nth Degree“, from the first record:

 

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