Hellevate, Lone Stranger, Flora From Kansas, and more of the best local music videos

Illustrated by Katelyn Betz

Christmas is in less than three weeks. You’ve already checked out from your job and are only pretending to work. Why not skip that Zoom webinar and instead watch these wonderful new music videos from some of the area’s most talented acts? We have a whole lot of angry music to keep you awake and energized, as well as some mellow and positive vibes to cool you down after in this installment of Cine Local.

Hellevate, “Rage Dealers”

Kansas City thrash metal act Hellevate’s new single serves as a bridge between their previous EP, The Purpose Is Cruelty, and their new album. Directed by Lonnie and Jessyca Crayton of 825 Studios, the video’s intro and outro emphasize the band’s concept behind the song, which is “about how there seems to be a constant incentive to keep everyone angry and miserable” via the news and social media. It rips along at an impressive pace, drops a guitar solo dead smack in the middle of it alongside a System of a Down-esque vocal interlude, and is headbang worthy all the way through.

Hössferatu, “Control” 

Kansas City stoner metal act Hössferatu released their debut full-length ten years ago, followed it up with the single “Overlord” a few months later, and then the last recording we’d heard was a cover of “Iron Fist” on The Company’s release, Ferociously Stoned: A Tribute to Motorhead, back in 2021. The band’s been playing regularly, but now, finally, we get a new tune and a video, to boot. Directed by Jason Cantu, the director brings the vibrancy and energy of all the Strange Music videos on which he’s worked to a new genre, and it’s as cinematic a performance video as we’ve ever seen.

Lone Stranger, “Its nice to meet ya” 

Zach Phillips, former basssist for the Architects and the Gadjits, has been teasing out bits and pieces of his Lone Stranger solo project over the past couple years, and while I’ve no clue as to when the actual album will come out, each and every new track is a loped-out piece of ska/dub/reggae/hip hop/rock. There’s no better place to start than with “Its nice to meet ya,” wherein Phillips introduces himself. Produced and directed by Adrian Halpern, the video gets dubby and weird as the music is.

Spine, “Spine Crew” 

Following up 2023’s Raices LP with this new track feels as though we’re getting not only a reintroduction to Kansas City hardcore act Spine, but an introduction to the KC hardcore scene as a whole. The track features guest vocals from members of Lower Heaven, Final Atomic Battle, Stakes Is High, Failure Drill, and Burning Bush. The video, directed by Ryan Njenga and filmed at venues Farewell and Howdy, ably shows off the scene’s people and places, while also featuring some of the best black-and-white hardcore dancing since Sick of It All’s “Step Down” video.

Flora From Kansas, “Clothes” 

We’ve been a big fan of Flora From Kansas’ bedroom pop since her first singles released back in 2021, and it’s been amazing to see her develop her sound over the past few years. Her latest tracks come after signing to the UK’s Melodic Records, and the first single, “Clothes,” is a short one, but does a solid job of showing just how far the young musician has come. The video, directed by Daniel Benjamin and shot at the warehouse for Lawrence resale shop Wildman Vintage, is a vibrant series of stills, and has us excited to see what comes next. The label has promised three more videos coming after Christmas, ahead of the March 2025 release of Flora’s debut EP for Melodic, which was produced by Ali Chant, who’s recently worked with the likes Yard Act, Soccer Mommy, and Perfume Genius.

Fatha Figga, “Street NiH Cypher”

A vibrant cross section of Kansas City’s verbal talent runs on this cypher. As Fatha Figga himself puts it, his goal was “to uplift and celebrate Kansas City’s vibrant hip-hop scene, emphasizing positive reinforcement and community.” Shot in front of 7th Heaven as a means of honoring a shop which gave much of KC’s hip hop community a chance to get their music in front of an appreciative audience, the cypher moves from artist to artist so smoothly, you’ll never notice that it runs nearly ten minutes long.

Are you a local musician with a new music video to share? Email nicholas.spacek@gmail.com