Ok, so D-Faction have taken a folky pop song about the romantic troubles of a country boy and reworked it into a South Pacific reggae song. And that works – small islands can have grotty rural areas just as much as continental countries.
But something weird happens with the video. This cheery song about a boy from the wrong side of the tracks looking for love is illustrated with the band performing the song in a bleak, futuristic industrial setting.
Vent pipes dangle, sparks literally fly and the band are surrounded by ominous-looking grates. And it’s all tinted gold, so it feels like there’s a giant furnace blazing away. Rather than evoking, say, rural East Coast or Northland, instead it’s like they’re prisoners on a slave spaceship, being forced to labour under the cruel eye of an evil overlord.
But despite the video treatment, the song was the highest charting track for D-Faction, enjoying the #10 spot. But just think – if the video had been better, it might have made it to #1.
Best bits: The flames; the fiery flames of fire.
Director: Jonathan King
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
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