Visually stunning, aurally outstanding, artistically crafted with tact and vision, ‘Brawl’, and its accompanying lyric video from Synecdoche Montauk are musical moments to cherish. Ones that tell us that language is never a barrier when it comes to a good piece of music with heartfelt emotion.
Based in London, originally Russian, Synecdoche Montauk is the stage name for singer and songwriter Savva Rozanov, who once believed that to make your birthday wishes come true, you must blow out all the candles in a single blow, which is where he drew his inspiration for a lyric video for his song ‘Brawl’ from ‘Acume’, his latest album.
Created and co-directed by screenwriter Nikita Nikiforov, the serene soul pop of ‘Brawl’ is complimented by a classically composed scene with subdued colors that easily evokes still-life scenes from Renaissance art. The words aren’t too bad either. Quite the opposite in fact. Lyrically poetic, the song’s words are dense and open-ended, a joy to interpret. The video’s slowed motion, one-shot technique, and minimal text fonts blend well with the colorful elements of the scene. The festive hat, in a sad blue color, mixes with the wine bottle to provoke the inner child inside of every confused adult. The confetti explosion, timed to the song’s restrained crescendo is touching, while Rozanov’s unchanged, distant expression speaks loudly to the general apathy our current day and age seem to have enforced upon us all.
Brawl’s video is cold but in a stirring way. Embracing, cool, and chic, beautifully colored and shot, a fitting accompaniment for the stunningly ambient piece of music, ‘Brawl’ has just gotten elevated.