Deaton Chris Anthony, Drop Dead XX, and more of this month’s best local music videos

October brought a harvest of visually exciting and sonically diverse entertainment in the form of local music videos. R&B, hip hop, indie rock, gothy metal—there’s something for every taste. Roundup below.

Ogechi, “Wait On Me” 

Born and raised in Kansas City, musician Ogechi resides in Atlanta these days. This video (shot by 1KMoments) nods to Ogechi’s roots right away, though—see that crumpled Missouri license plate? A kind of hopeful nostalgia, enhanced by the VHS-meets-8mm look, permeates the rest of the vid. Appropriately enough, the musician’s new EP is entitled Nu Nostalgia, and you can give it a listen at Spotify.

Claire Adams, “Better Luck” 

The video for Claire Adams’ “Better Luck,” shot and edited by Steve Gardels (The Philistines, The Uncouth), is a warm companion to the song’s laconic, laid-back feel. (To our ears, it’s like a more relaxed take on Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do.”) The new single, released last month through Bandcamp, also features jazz pianist Alyssa Murray and drummer Fritz Hutchison.

NA.Westside, “Malfunction” 

Glitchy and degraded right down to the Windows shutdown sound, the “Malfunction” video sees videographer Kendu the Stampede taking his style to new heights (though not lengths; the song is a scant minute-and-a-half) of visual interest. It hits, and then it’s gone, and then it’s time to play it again.

You can snag Summer Nights, Vol. 19 on iTunes.

Stary, “Rainy” 

Remember that point in the ’90s when seemingly every band had a video with skateboarding in it? Unsane’s “Scrape,” Sonic Youth’s “100%,” Pennywise’s “Same Old Story“—it seems we haven’t had a really good one since Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push,” and that was over a decade ago. Thankfully, Stary’s debut music video from Samuel Stiegelmeir and Erik Anderson of Broken Yolk Productions saw fit to match the band’s dreamy and jangly indie rock to some nicely retro visuals.

You can catch Stary opening for Queen of Jeans at the Rino on Sunday, November 10. Details on that show here.

Clarke, “Hit Hard” 

Costumes. Masks. Video game power bars. Shawn Riddle’s video for Clarke’s “Hit Hard,” shot at Sweet Z’s Gym, mixes the playful and the serious as much as the song itself. (Stick around to the end for a sweet Muhammad Ali clip that caps it all off.) The cut’s off Clarke’s upcoming album, Spring Was Supposed to be Fun. It was evidently supposed to go up for pre-order on Halloween, but doesn’t appear to be on Apple Music quite yet. Keep an eye on Clarke’s Insta for details.

Drop Dead XX, “Kids With Guns/Barf” 

If you’re a hip hop collective, how do you make a video accurately showcasing the range of your music? If you’re Drop Dead XX, you include two songs—in this case, “Kids With Guns” and “Barf,” both off the group’s new album, Dirtbike. The idea of combining laid-back mumble rap with Italo disco-inspired beats is, as far as I’m aware, a new one, so props to Drop Dead XX for doing it on “Kids With Guns.” The mood switches dramatically on “Barf,” which is all done in the backseat of a car, with the camera lens mere inches from their faces.

You can find Dirtbike via a variety of streaming platforms via this link.

BQUYET, “Talkin’ to Myself” 

The title tells most of the story of Topeka rapper BQUYET’s “Talkin’ to Myself” video, a lo-fi affair where weed is smoked in a parking garage and words are spoken to a mirror. The direction by Hudeanhe keeps the focus on the rapper, allowing us to properly absorb the lyrics.

“Talkin’ To Myself” is a single, but you can check out BQUYET’s most recent EP, Toxic Mentalities, at Amazon Music.

Deaton Chris Anthony, “Tony Hawk” feat. LA 

Former Kansas Citian Deaton Chris Anthony made a video for a song called “Tony Hawk”—and got Tony Hawk to be in it. The verses by LA lead you tho think that it’s going to be a take on Migos’ “Versace,” then it swerves into some emotionally devastating lyrics from Anthony, who seems to be doing just fine out there in Los Angeles.

Carswell & Hope, “On My Way” 

Per the text at the beginning of the video, Lawrence’s Carswell & Hope asked their fans and friends to “share footage of their travels from around the world” for their new single, “On My Way.” It spans the country and the world, with a lot more Australia than I was expecting. The lyrics are about trying to find the love that you’re missing and then returning back home, but seeing all those far-flung places has me antsy to hop a plane.

You don’t have to travel far to catch Carswell & Hope’s next show, which is at the Brick on Saturday, November 16, with Joe’s Pet Project and Mikal Shapiro. Details on that show here.

Alice Sweet Alice, “Fangs” 

The goth-metal folks in Alice Sweet Alice debuted their latest video on Halloween (natch), and the song’s an anthem for the cyberbullied. According to the band’s vocalist, Liza Jean, cyberbullying “in some ways worse than ‘standard’ bullying—the ability to hide behind anonymity, make fake profiles to make antagonizing words louder, to utterly surround your victim with your hateful bile. I wasn’t about to pull punches. They’re despicable, the worst kinds of monsters.”

The band’s debut, Circus Maximus—The Modern Bloodshedding, is due out later this year.

Iddy Vice, “No Long Talk” 

In the last month, Iddy Vice dropped five new tracks. Damn. Listening to “No Long Talk,” and watching Cole Billings’ video, it comes as no surprise: the guy’s effortlessly confident, deep inside the middle of a nice roll.

Check out the rest of Iddy Vice’s new music on Soundcloud.

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