Live Review: Squidgeini's 'Alligator' clip is frankly straight up cool

29 May 2017 | 4:36 pm | Lloyd Crackett

Electric blue pool clams, synchronised dancing and friends on an excavator - well, it's all in there as is back Squidgenini with her clip for 'Alligator'

It’s only been a few weeks since SQUIDGENINI’s ‘Alligator’ dropped, and since then it’s received critical acclaim and Triple J love, with Triple J Presenter Zan Rowe stating, ‘Such steeze. I love how you can delicately harmonize a definite F U. Hero.' That’s really the best response; yeah, Squid did that. It’s a happy go-lucky 'fuck you' to a dude. Hopefully, the dude in question has now heard it and got the message, 'cause now it's coming in full visual force with Squidgenini’s first music video.

The video is a friendly affair, created by Squid/ Bella and Maria Bui in their Thornbury sharehouse in Melbourne and it is an unfussy complement to the track. Kicking off with Squid in a bath, soles of her feet obstructing her face and bubbles covering near every inch of her – it’s plain to see, yet more so be directed to – that you will view her as she choses to be viewed. It’s a simple and strong theme that carries throughout the entire clip, Squid is the focal point throughout but unlike many female-focused music videos, she isn't being chased, leered at or consumed by the lens.

One of the best shots is Squid revealing herself to be glasses, swimmers and bandana-clad in an electric blue plastic pool clam – set against the bright green grass, wooden fence and large yellow backdrop with flowers. It’s like a modern Botticelli’s 'Birth of Venus', distinctly not ethereal or voyeuristic but grounded in a very Australian reality. Squid raps from the clam, one hand steadying herself from outside yet completely poised. The image is stunning; Squid is a beautiful women, she looks captivating reclined in the clam but that is an inevitability rather than the sole construction - she isn't in the clam waiting to be plucked, she's leading to the next moment where she is eating ramen with knives on the wall, telling some dude to fuck off.

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The clip also features some cool cameos from Kalyani, vocalist of Willow Beats and Tri, vocalist of Majella - proving that talent moves with talent. The two join Squid in a synchronised dance and then a carefree dance atop an excavator. The entire video clip is purely cool – it’s laidback, it’s visually appealing and chiefly, it looks like it would have been a lot of fun to make. A bunch of friends got together and combined their talents. It’s especially cool as it doesn’t stink of overproduction. It doesn't take itself too seriously, yet it isn’t badly made in the vein of ‘I don’t give a fuck’ being used as an excuse for laziness and lack of craft.

It's a cool music video clip as it simply, stylishly and effectively gives another dimension to an already kickass song. It's yet another consistent move by the Squid, proving that you should be following her Twitter bio's advice: 'JUST DO YOU' because she is, and it is working out mighty fine.

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