Video premiere: Beck Black, ‘Red Dog’

Roy Jurgens on May 24th, 2017

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Beck Black is a pint-sized North Carolina native with a queen-sized voice to be reckoned with, and the video for her new single “Red Dog” makes that abundantly clear. “Red Dog” is the directorial debut for Black, who studied film under Frank Capra Jr. and learned that putting a cute dog in your music video is a always great casting move. This canine (named Mika) doesn’t just have a cameo, but a starring role, turning what could have been a one-dimensional musical snarl into an adorable tongue-in-cheek anthem about a pooch that has clearly has commitment issues. The legendary Rodney Bingenheimer opens the video with his familiar radio call, and the song rolls though scenes of Mika and the band cavorting on a road trip through the Southland. Lyrically, the song has a basis in reality, as a few years back Black’s friend (Craig Thieman, the video’s cinematographer) found the aforementioned “red dog” along the famed North Carolina river from “Cape Fear,” and their relationship came to mirror his more troubling human ones.

In a live setting, Black isn’t nearly so sweet and tame. In possession of an impressive collection of growls and shrieks, Black and her boys (Mo Matatquin on guitar and Adam Alt on drums) channel a musical exorcism that recall the good old days when rock ’n’ roll was dangerous and unpredictable. The threesome, with Black switching off between bass and keys, deliver a white squall of tension and release that recalls the mood of previous female fronted acts such as Siouxsie & the Banshees, Nina Hagen, Hole and the Nymphs.

“Red Dog” and the lead single “American Mister” are available on their debut EP “Clandestine.” Additionally, Beck has recorded a new single “You’re Never Gonna Stop Me” with Tony Valentino of the legendary Standells. Their next EP “Hollywood Blvd” is scheduled for release in August.

||| Watch: The video for “Red Dog”