TOP POPS! Seance Crasher (Music Video Premiere), Michael Rault, Daniel Rafn

TOP POPS! is a a recurring selection of indie pop highlights across a selection of styles, to keep you on your dancing, shaking toes. +++ ALL TOP POPS! COLUMNS + ALL MUSIC COLUMNS

Michael Rault – “Lovers Lie”

With the juxtaposition of bittersweet lyrics and cheery melodies, Michael Rault’s “Lovers Lie” is a slow flutter, like a ’50s slow dance prior to a breakup. The Toronto-based singer-songwriter graces us with his dynamic excellence via his latest album, Living Daylight, which is out now via the prolific So-Cal label Burger Records. Love.

Seance Crasher – “Commitment” (Music Video Premiere)

While we don’t often post music videos that are quite so silly, Seance Crasher’s “Commitment” is an exception, thanks to the strength of the track itself. The recording alias of Kevin Rafn — who is also backed by his older brother Daniel Rafn (read more about Daniel at the bottom of this post), Seance Crasher continues with the nostalgic sentiments first stirred up by Michael Rault. For full disclosure, I will note that this music video was filmed in my old house, thus making the nostalgia even stronger, but this type of humor holds in line with Seance Crasher’s bouncy, light-hearted approach to their music and their live show (which is damn enjoyable if you happen to get a chance to witness one).

“The music video was filmed last summer. It is a simple story about a typical boy/girl relationship turned on it’s head when the boyfriend suddenly and quite inexplicably turns into a dog. He then gets to enjoy all the finery he was accustomed to as a man, only now his lady walks him around on a leash like the animal he is. The video was filmed on a budget of $80.00 and most items were returned to the Dollar Tree after filming.” – Kevin Rafn, Seance Crasher

This music video is seeing the light of day alongside the EP release of City Bus, which you can hear here. The video serves as a prelude to another full-length record which will come out later this summer, as a follow-up to their recently released sophomore record, Piano Pills.

Direction and cinematography by Guy Wagner
Produced by Chris Cantino and Kevin Rafn
Script by Guy Wagner and Kevin Rafn
Starring Richard Mosley, Taylor Stillwell, Kevin Rafn, and Daniel Rafn

Daniel Rafn (Arthur Russell Covers)

To close out this edition of TOP POPS!, we strip away 1/2 of Seance Crasher’s brotherly appeal and throw in some ever-inspiring Arthur Russell, via Daniel Rafn’s solo project. These covers of Russell’s “Place I Know / Kid Like You” and “You & Me Both” — from World of Echo and Calling Out of Context, respectively, pay ample homage to Russell’s more off-kilter experiments in the discoteque universe. For that, we can be thankful for these reboots.