Photo by Will Reid
The visual representation of a musical release is often lacking at the most generous, and uninspired at the least. Legss have gone full tilt towards ambition and artistry in their collaboration with THE REIDS to create the accompanying video for their new single “Hollywood”. A darkly dramatic, black and white short film, there is a three act cinematic universe where we are able to witness the pain that accompanies working towards an idealized version of success that we can pin as “Hollywood”.
Vocalist Ned Green shared:
“Hollywood is a bittersweet reflection on working in the gig economy, freelancing under Dickensian conditions and blagging it into under-qualified jobs. Impish and apathetic, the turbulent structure throbs with the same scatty energy adopted by contemporary hacks.
The accompanying short film, made in collaboration with THE REIDS, is not only a striking visual representation of the song’s themes but also a window into the aesthetics of our darkly comic world.”
Directors THE REIDS shared:
“A “music video” for Hollywood never felt like the right move. Our shared ambition here was to make something different and challenging. Legss are a rare case of a band that actually wants to go all the way with ideas like this: Hollywood doesn’t behave how a video promoting a new single should. The song itself is shattered into 3 sections across the edit and the piece is just shy of 10 minutes – requiring engagement from the audience to get anything out of it.”
Daring to go against convention and demanding rapt attention has paid off in spades. Chaotic, cathartic, and honestly, a bit tragic, “Hollywood”, both the track and the video, are standout pieces of work from Legss.