This video is for the new one from Swansea Sound. "Paradise" is the lead track on the group's Twentieth Century, and it's a real gem. The video marries the sounds of that single up with imagery of Welsh electro-pop pioneer Malcolm Neon. It's a jarring juxtaposition, but a smart one, linking up the sounds of Swansea Sound with earlier artists.
Watching this one wonders if Hue Williams (The Pooh Sticks) taped this himself when he was a younger man, dreaming of pop stardom. The vocals from Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly, Catenary Wires, etc.) add a touch of sweetness, smoothing out the rough edges of the number. The cut is simple but wildly effective. The idea of the future, our present, as seen by past greats like Gary Numan informs the sound here, though there's still a good deal of DIY vigor here that also nods in the direction of Hue Williams' past bands, and the groups that Amelia and Rob Pursey were in too.
Twentieth Century by Swansea Sound is out now via Skep Wax.
[Photo: Swansea Sound]