Live Review: WATCH: Kirin J Callinan ‘Way To War’

Every now and then you come across something that leaves you to sit back and ponder the question “What the fuck did I just watch?”

More often than not, this is a bad thing; like Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, or watching what two girls can do with one cup; however the video for KIRIN J CALLINAN’s new release.

‘Way to War’ is one amazing exception. Directed by Kris Moyes (the man behind the similarly bizarre and brill vid for The Presets’ ‘Are You The One?’) the video contains a series of eloquently composed shots violently stuttering along to the beat of the music. On my 5^th viewing, I still believe that there’s some kind of story or sense to it that I just can’t seem to find -- it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before.

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As for the music itself, it’s very much an acquired taste. There’s a very complex mish-mash of noise-rock, psychedelia and even a hint of - I don’t know how describe it - ‘horror-pop’? If a mummy, Frankenstein's monster, and a few zombies formed a psychedelic-grunge outfit, this is the music they would make. Putting it through the test of whether of not it would work well when not accompanied by the visuals of the video, I found the extended mix to be much more accessible and fun to listen to than I expected. Check it out, you might surprise yourself!