I felt compelled to look at the YouTube comments for this video. “fuck you guys who come online to hate”, says jero6919, despite there being no negative comments. And SuperStarrChild reminisces about “2003 at the Grey Lynn bowling club. I’ll never forget that gig.” But it’s Bekiblue who comments about the video itself, saying “i’m feeling ‘barton fink’ with this one…” And yeah, it does have the feel of the gloomy Hotel Earle.
“Drop You Off” is a moody song with a trip-hop flavour to it. The video gives us shadowy glimpses of a hotel room where something bad has happened. A red robe spills across the floor (like blood, you know), where an ashtray is also found. And you know ashtrays don’t normally belong on the floor. A light flickers and someone has scrawled “ready” on the wall. The song is pleasingly bass-heavy and the beater of a kick drum flicks toward the camera, like a sinister marshmallow on a stick. And in the midst of all this drama, there stands Shayne Carter. With those cheekbones and that pout, he seems born to inhabit this noirish world of intrigue.
It’s all about atmosphere. With much of the video shot as darkness and shadows, it lets the song stand out. Shayne Carter doesn’t need to take a starring role. The mystery and gloom lets the song stand out.
It’s like the video is offering clues to a crime that may or may not have happened. It’s ambiguous as to what has actually taken place. But there’ll be no neat gotcha. The video ends with a nighttime journey along a native bush flanked road. The camera is looking up, as if it were lying down in the car. Like a dead body being dropped off.
Best bit: the brocade bedspread, which may or may not cover a body.
Next… a total mess.