Research - The Last Shadow Puppets - Bad Habits Music Video Analysis

This music video is very different to The Stone Roses' One Love; the former followed a performance structure, this one follows a very ambiguous narrative. This video is the first in a 4-part story spanning across the four singles from the new album, 'Everything That You've Come To Expect'. The story of this particular video follows the two band mates performing in a bar, whilst frequently cutting to the story behind the performance, a bachelor party. 'Bad Habits', the lyrics which gives a name to the title, could potentially link to the wrong-doing the band seem to be carrying out (seemingly sleeping with the bride before a wedding). The video seems to have a sinister/psychedelic tone to it; evident through the use of dark colors and strobe lighting. The remainder of the videos follow the consequences of their actions; 'Everything That You've Come To Expect' shows the two protagonists of this story buried in sand up to their heads, 'Aviation' shows a flashback of the two essentially digging their own graves on the beach in front of the groom of the bride they slept with, and finally 'Miracle Aligner' shows the two who have seemingly escaped their own burial (clue being the tans off both men off being buried in the sand for so long.
The genre for this song is Indie/Alternative, the video could be seen to adhere to the modern conventions of indie-rock; the band being involved in some sort of narrative love story, whilst still being able to perform. The choice to make the performance scenes in black and white and the narrative in color could be used to help the audience distinguish between the two. Could also be an example of a trope used in films in which a scene in the past is black and white, whilst the present is in color. This would make sense given the chronology of the music videos. Furthermore, this technique could be used to appeal to separate audiences. The black and white scenes could help appeal to a younger 'indie' audience because of the focus on music and its performance, whilst the color could appeal more to an adult audience, give the adult nature of the themes, as they could feel more engrossed in the story. The sinister iconography appeals to the indie-rock genre, traits such as the extremely attractive girls getting with the cool, slick band members and the focus on the heavy guitar playing in between.
The mise-en-scene in this video is fairly abstract, particularly the frequent change of scenery. The narrative appears to take place in an American diner/bar, showing the band's capacity for off-the-cuff live performance. Whilst the narrative features a large mansion bachelor party and a 'Shining-esque' snowy maze. Perhaps used to add to the sinister tone of the video. The bachelor pad used could be seen as a symbol for the band's lad-like, rebellious nature of sleeping with attractive women without considering consequences. The outfits used for the main characters are slick, unbuttoned suits; fitting well with the cool, rebel look. The lighting, as explained before, provides a sinister/horror tone to the video. The deep reds and dark blacks connote the idea of death, lust and general misbehavior. The camera work uses a variety of abstract close-ups in the narrative sections, particularly the guitar solo at 2:05. Linking to the idea of mental detachment shown in Miles Kane's erratic behavior and delivery of his lines.

Bad Habits was released as the first of four album singles for the album 'Everything That You've Come To Expect' in January 2016.