Lazlo finds something slimy and green, in Carlo Quicho's promo for the dreamy Breathe.At a house party, Lazlo plays with his band and then visits the bathroom to find irridescent green hand rising out of the toilet. That induces a trippy, hypnotic series of events - and wraps all of the partyogers' faces in creepy lizard masks. Offbeat and unconventional, the video evokes Spielberg's 80s sci-fi epics on a modest budget, care of Matt Young's cinematography."Breathe is an allegory for tribulations we face with anxiety and depression." says Carlo Quicho. "These things typically 'haunt' us for the rest of our lives when people promise things will get better. We can instead find solace in these states of mind."

Maxim Kelly directs a genre-bending epic for Mercury Prize-shortlisted rock band Black Country, New Road. Cleverly balancing an abstract narrative with anachronistic imagery, the focal point of the story is an alien who has crash-landed to Earth, who gets a less-than-welcoming treatment from the humans who capture him.Spanning a six-minute runtime, the video is peppered with a vast array of references, from vintage sci-fi films through to low budget B-movies and classic drama films. And the Concorde plane is in there too. Flanked with archival footage, the video is ambitious and wide-ranging, but never once feels stretched too thin, which is a remarkable achievement for a concept that covers so much ground in it's comparably short runtime.We took the 6 minute-plus runtime as an asset.“On the surface, the concept was straightforward," says Kelly. "But for a band who namecheck everyone from Scott Walker to Kanye West, and the pronounced mix of genres in their music, it felt right to take an analogous approach with the visuals. Throw as many references together as possible and see if we, too, could get it all to hold together as a piece."We took the 6 minute-plus runtime as an asset. It gave us the time needed to weave as much as possible into the film. A walking video in parts, but also with a narrative running through... combined with miniatures and VFX. "The band were so supportive and amazing. They gave us the encouragement to just go off on one! And being a massive fan of their music, it was a genuine pleasure to work with them on this film.”

Barnstorming indie band Wet Leg are reimagined as bath-loving aliens beamed down from outer space, in Fred Rowson's loveably eccentric promo for Too Late Now. Wrapped in bath towels, the band venture out into Croydon to experience the Earthly delight of a good hot soak for the very first time, reflecting the lyrics, “I just need a bubble bath to set me on a higher path”.During their pursuit they encounter the addictions of bubble bath and the relaxing qualities of cucumbers - which involves a certain amount of suggestiveness, in the already characteristic Wet Leg style - eventually finding true nirvana in the form of a very pink hot tub, drawing a conclusion to the space-invaders’ pilgrimage.Filmed across two days in South-East London and on a rather muddy Kentish farm, DoP Rik Burnell worked closely with Rowson to achieve the ‘fly on the wall’ aesthetic, shot on a very very long lens with minimal lighting.I was slightly stunned to shoot the first Wet Leg video that they didn’t direct themselves."Wet Leg may be the coolest band of the year, but, surprisingly, they are also 2021’s year’s most innocent gang of outsiders," comments Rowson. "Tasked with documenting their first experience of exploring an urban centre outside of Ryde [on the Isle of Wight] I was shocked by their naivety, and nearly lost them on numerous occasions, not least when Rhian nearly went under a bus. Twice."Thankfully, no indie kids were harmed in the making of this movie, and the quintet instinctively found their way to the safety of a rural setting. Thank God."Seriously though. I was slightly stunned when Hester and Rhian asked me to shoot the first Wet Leg video that they didn’t direct themselves. Pressure, considering that their previous two were, for me, the best of the year. But, from conception to shoot to edit, this was a mad, magical collaboration that’s up there with my favourite music video experiences."Thank you to Domino and John Moule for trusting us to get on with it, and thank you as always to the team of Terminators at Blink - Rosie, Seb, Laura: you gave up your lives and made this happen in less than a week. Thank you. Best in town."

Oliva Rose uncovers a UFO conspiracy, in the dystopian promo for Lancey Foux's Steelo Flow. Paying homage to sci-fi iconography and retro obsessions with extraterrestrials, a janitor is glued to several monitors, hoping to get a glimpse of alien life. He lucks out when he spots Foux in an industrial warehouse, mounted upon a motorcycle in a frenetic and exciting performance setup. Between the strobes and snapshots of his exposed face, something isn't quite right... Refreshingly unique and futuristic, Rose pushes current trends aside and digs deep into the rich subject matter, and gets an extraordinary performance from the artist to anchor the whole project.